AbeBooks Top 20 Highest Prices for April-June 2019
- by Michael Stillman
We have selected Newton's book for our cover image in the belief it will get the greatest number of people to look at the article.
AbeBooks has released its latest quarterly list of the Top 20 or so books that brought in the highest prices on their website. These are actual sales, not asking prices. Sometimes, these lists are dominated by particular types of books. Not this time. The types of books are diverse and if this list reveals something about the direction of collecting interests, it does not reveal it to me. We will leave it to the reader to detect a pattern. Here it is.
17 (tie). Barack Obama printed manuscript with hand corrections. Obama was writing an editorial concerning lobbyists, special interest groups, and campaign financing in 2007, a year before his election as President. A lot has changed since he was President. $7,500.
17 (tie). The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, by Frederick Engels & Florence Wischnewetzky. In a word, it was tough. $7,500.
17 (tie). The Natural History of North Carolina by John Brickell, printed in Dublin in 1737. Brickell spent six years in the colony as one of its first doctors. $7,500.
17 (tie). Book collection belonging to Carolyn D. Wright. Carolyn Wright was an American poet who died in 2016. It includes numerous modern first editions. $7,500.
17 (tie). Dracula by Bam Stoker. May I kiss you on the neck? $7,500.
17 (tie). Mechanismus der menschlichen Sprache nebst Beschreibung seiner sprechenden Maschine, by Wolfgang von Kempelen. What else is there to say? $7,500.
16. Sumo by Helmut Newton. A 1999 book of Newton's fashion photography that is a regular AbeBooks top seller. $7,637.
15, L'Oaristys by Theocrite. An 1896 French edition of this 3rd century Greek poet's work with illustrations by Georges Bellanger. $8,136.
14. Works of Virgil. A more modern poet (1st century BC). This is a 1529 French edition with 205 woodcuts. $8,164.
13. An Explanation of the Observed Irregularities in the Motion of Uranus on the Hypothesis of Disturbances Caused by a More Distant Planet, by John Couch Adams, published in 1846. The more distant planet proved to be the discovery of Neptune. $8,407.
11 (tie). Aspen Magazine numbers 1-10. A complete run of this 1960s art and culture magazine published in Aspen, Colorado. $8,500.
11 (tie). The Holy Bible, translated by Julia E. Smith, an 1876 American edition. This was the first translation of the Bible by a woman. $8,500.
10. Sumo by Helmut Newton. Once again. Comes with its own book stand. $8,525.
9. Nobiliario Genealógico de los Reyes y Títulos de España, by Alonso Lopez de Haro. A 1622 book about the bloodlines of Spanish royalty and aristocracy. $8,973.
7 (tie). The Wood Beyond the World, by William Morris. One of 350 copies of the 1894 first edition of this fantasy novel famous for its wood engravings from Morris' legendary Kelmscott Press. $9,000.
7 (tie). The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle. The George Newnes 1902 first edition with a laid in letter by Doyle. $9,000.
6. Canto General, by Pablo Neruda. Signed 1950 limited first edition by the Nobel Prize winning Chilean poet. $9,200.
5. We Seven by "The Astronauts Themselves." This is a 1962 book written and signed by America's original astronauts, the Mercury Seven. Those "astronauts themselves" were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. Each contributed at least three essays. $12,000.
4. Sanctuary, by William Faulkner. A 1931 first edition with a laid-in author signature. $12,500.
3. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, by Denis Diderot & Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Lighting up the Enlightenment. Generally known simply as the Encyclopédie, published in 17 volumes 1751-1772, this was not only an encyclopedia but an advocate for intellectual and democratic institutions. $16,868.
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Move over, Faulkner. One good southern author deserves another. This is a 1960 signed first edition. $17,000.
1. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, published in 1953. James Bond just killed the mockingbird. He finishes number 1. $19,600.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Andrews (H.C.) Coloured Engravings of Heaths, 4 vol. in 2, first edition, [1710,--94]-1802-1809-[1830]. £10,000 - £15,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- Cramer (Pierre) and Caspar Stoll. De Uitlandsche Kapellen voorkomende in de drie Waereld-Deelen…,, 5 vol., Amsterdam & Utrecht, 1779-91. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Voyages.- Darwin (Charles) and others. Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, 3 vol. in 4, including Appendix to vol.2, first edition, 1839. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- de Graaf (Willem Diederik Vincent). [Inlandsche Kapellen in beeld], 170 fine original watercolours, [Enkhuizen], [1800-40]. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Dresser (Henry Eeles). A History of the Birds of Europe, 9 vol., including supplement, first edition, by the author, 1871-96. £6,000 - £8,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Zoology.- Felines.- Elliot (Daniel Giraud). A Monograph of the Felidæ or Family of the Cats, first edition, for the Subscribers, by the Author, [1878]-1883. £25,000 - £30,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Frisch (Johann Leonard). Vorstellung der Vögel Deutschlandes, 2 vol., first edition, Berlin, Friedr. Wilhelm Birnsteil, [1736]-1763. £40,000 - £60,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Gould (John). The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition, by the author, 1862-1873. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Pomology.- France.- Poiteau (A.) Pomologie Française. Recueil des Plus Beaux Fruits cultivés en France, 4 vol., Paris, 1846. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- [Robin (Jean)]. Histoire des Plantes, nouvellement trouvées en l'Isle Virgine…,, 1620; with Geoffrey Linocier L'Histoire des plantes, second edition, 1619-20. £3,000 - £4,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Japan.- Siebold (P.F. von). Nippon. Archiv zur Beschreibung von Japan, 7 parts in 6 vol., first edition, Leyden, [1832]-1852. £35,000 - £45,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Valentijn (Francois). Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën..., 5 vol. in 8, first edition, Dordrecht [&] Amsterdam, 1724-26. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Australia.- Redouté (P.J.).- Ventenat (Étienne Pierre). Jardin de la Malmaison, 2 vol.,, Paris, 1803-04[-05]. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 26th March 2026
Forum, Mar. 26: Book of Hours.- Heures a lusaige de Romme, printed on vellum, with 14 full-page illuminated miniatures, Paris, N. Higman for J. de Brie, [c.1521]. £20,000-30,000
Forum, Mar. 26: France.- Book of Hours, perhaps Use of the Abbey of Saint-Gildas de Rhuys, with thirteen miniatures surviving from an original cycle of at least twenty, [c. 1430]. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Milton (John). Paradise lost. A Poem in Ten Books, first edition, Pforzheimer's sixth state, S. Simmons, 1669. £8,000-12,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Blake (William). Illustrations of the Book of Job, one of 215 first issue "Proof" copies, this one of 65 copies on "French" paper, Published by the Author, March 8, 1825 [but March, 1826]. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 26th March 2026
Forum, Mar. 26: Christie (Agatha). The ABC Murders, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Halley (Edmund). Astronomiae Cometicae Synopsis, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, no. 297, pp.1882-99, March 1705. £10,000-15,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Haytham (Ibn al) [known as Alhazen]. Opticae Thesaurus...Item Vitellonis Thuringopoloni libri X..., first edition, Basel, August, 1572. £20,000-30,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Kepler (Johannes). Dioptrice seu demonstratio eorum quae visui & visibilibus propter conspicilla non ita pridem inventa accidunt, first edition, Augsburg, David Frank, 1611. £12,000-18,000
Books & Autographs Wednesday 25 March
Koller, Mar. 25: KAFKA, FRANZ, SCHRIFTSTELLER. Eigenh. Brief mit Unterschrift. Prag, 20. Oktober [19]15. CHF 30,000-40,000.
Koller, Mar. 25: EINSTEIN, ALBERT. Zwei eigenhändige Briefe an Ernst Gabor Straus, unterschrieben "A.E" bzw. "A. Einstein". [Princeton], [19]45. und [1950]. CHF 30,000-40,000.
Koller, Mar. 25: HORTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS, MUTTER VON NAPOLEON III. Album aus ihrem Besitz mit 69 Aquarellen und Pinselzeichnungen in Sepia oder Grau… CHF 14,000-18,000.
Koller, Mar. 25: ZOOLOGIE - ORNITHOLOGIE - Seligmann, Johann Michael. Verzameling van uitlandsche en zeldzaame Vogelen. Teile 1-8 (von 9) in 2 Bänden. Mit 421 prächtig altkolorierten Kupfertafeln. CHF 14,000-20,000
Koller, Mar. 25: BOTANIK - Berlèse, Lorenzo und Johann Jakob Jung. Iconographie du genre camellia... 3 Bände. Mit 300 Farbstichtafeln "a la poupée.” Paris, [1839-]1841-1843. CHF 12,000-18,000.
