AbeBooks Announces Top 10 Highest Prices for Third Quarter of 2019
- by Michael Stillman
The Caterbury Tales.
AbeBooks has released their list of the Top 10 highest prices paid on their book selling website during the months of July-September. They fall into three categories: books or authors you know, very old books, and beautiful books. Most books aren't worth a lot of money, but if you have the right ones, the money still flows. Here are those ten most expensive items.
10. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, by Isaac Newton. This is a third edition from 1726 of what some consider the greatest science book ever written. It covers Newton's laws of motion and of universal gravity. This was the last edition published during his lifetime. $8,847.
9. The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis. A complete set of first editions of the Chronicles. Maybe not as important as Newton's Principia, but many more people have read these books. $9,138.
8. La Geografia di Claudio Tolomeo Alessandrino. This is Alessandrino's geography as translated to Italian by the 16th century Italian cartographer Girolamo Ruscelli. Contains a double hemisphere world map. $9,193.
7. Antarctic Days. Sketches of the Homely Side of Polar Life by Two of Shackleton's Men, by James Murray and George Marston. These two gentlemen accompanied Shackleton on the Nimrod Expedition 1907-1909. They didn't quite make it to the South Pole but came the closest of anyone at that time. Shackleton provided an introduction and this copy was signed by Shackleton, Murray and Marston. $9,500.
6. Hieronymi Cardani Mediolanensis, by Gerolamo Cardano. With a title like that, it is safe to say this is a very old book. Cardano was a 16th century polymath, knowledgeable in philosophy, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, astrology, physics, and probably everything else. This is a 17th century edition of his work. $10,991.
5. Toni Morrison Collection. Thirty books written by Toni Morrison, including signed first editions, proofs and review copies. $11,000.
4. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Second edition in three volumes, published in 1813, the same year as the first edition. $12,740.
3. Les Oeuvres de Monsieur de Molière. Eight volumes of the works of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, better known as Molière. Published in 1682. $13,309.
2. History of the Royal Residences of Windsor Castle, St. James's Palace, Carlton House, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court, Buckingham House, and Frogmore by W.H. Pyne. Three volumes published in 1819 containing 100 engravings of various palatial residences, including the one with a lot of frogs nearby. $15,000.
1. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. This is a facsimile of the New Ellesmere early 15th century illuminated manuscript housed at the Huntington Library. This is a lot of money for a 1995 facsimile but it is a spectacular reproduction of an incredibly beautiful work. $19,752.
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Galileo Galilei. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano. Firenze, 1632
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Saverio Manetti. Storia naturale degli uccelli. Firenze, 1771-76
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Fortunato Depero. Depero futurista. Rovereto, 1927
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Nicolas Visscher. Atlas minor sive totius orbis terrarum contracta delineat ex conatibus. Amsterdam, circa 1649-95
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Andreas Vesalius. Anatomia. Addita nunc. Antiquorum Anatome. Venezia, 1604
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Tristan Tzara and Salvador Dalì. Grains et Issues. Parigi, 1935
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
Sotheby's Book Week 2 June - 9 July
Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
