A warning to cattle rustlers to leave town. The meaning of 3-7-77 is unknown.
AbeBooks has released their list of the top 14 most expensive items purchased on their website in 2021. “Abe” is the largest seller of old books with millions of titles listed. While most may fit in the category of “reading copies,” they also have a wide selection of rare and collectible books. Those include the 14 highest prices paid this past year, ones that sold for $25,000 and up.
12-14 (tie). Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman, published in 1985. This is a signed copy of the autobiography of the brilliant, nerdy physicist who manages to make his life in physics humorous and entertaining. $25,000.
12-14 (tie). Declaration of Independence, a broadside by Peter Force published in 1833. Historian and printer Peter Force was commissioned by Congress to print this facsimile engraved by William Stone for the American Archives. $25,000.
12-14 (tie). The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, a seventh printing published in 1931. This copy was inscribed by Hammett to Bebe Daniels and her husband Ben Lyon. Daniels played the lead in the first film adaptation of Hammett's novel. $25,000.
11. Grapefruit by Yoko Ono, self-published in 1964. Inscribed by the author. Ms. Ono was not a major celebrity at the time she published this book, but became so after she married John Lennon. $25,450.
10. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith published in 1776. This is the Dublin edition, the only other edition of this classic of modern economics published the same year as the first edition. This copy belonged to Lady Davy, the wife of chemist and inventor Sir Humphrey Davy.
9. Dracula by Bram Stoker published in 1897. “Drac” needs no introduction. $27,500.
8. Euclidis Megarensis Geometricorum Elementorum, a 1516 French edition of Euclid's Elements. The ancient Alexandria mathematician lived 1,800 years earlier but had to wait until printing was invented to have a printed book. $27,850.
7. The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James D. Watson published in 1968. Signed by Watson and colleagues and fellow Noble Prize winners Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins. $28,500.
6. Security Analysis by Benjamin Graham & David Dodd published in 1934. “The Bible for stock investors.” Graham, like so many, took a beating in the 1929 stock market crash so he set about learning the principles of successful investing. $29,000.
5. Après 50 Ans de Surréalisme by Salvador Dali, the deluxe French edition of 1974. Includes 12 signed color etchings by Dali. $32,000.
4. An autograph letter by E.T.A. Hoffmann from 1816. Hoffmann wrote Gothic horror stories, his stories inspiring the opera the Tales of Hoffmann and Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. $32,823.
3. Derrière le Miroir, 243 issues of the French art magazine published from 1946-1982. One issue was signed by Joan Miro. $35,000.
2 The Birds of America by John James Audubon, a 1972 facsimile. The Johnson Reprint edition in four double-elephant folios. Looks much like the 1827-1839 original which can sell for over $10 million. $36,635.
1. Pencil Sketches of Montana by A.E. Mathews published in 1868. It contains 31 sketches of early Montana by Mathews and this copy came with a loose vigilante card with a skull and crossbones intended to warn cattle rustlers to get out of town. $37,500.
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
Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Presentation Copy of the First Issue of the Lincoln Douglas Debates Signed by Abraham Lincoln in Pencil to a Sangamon County Illinois Republican. Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: A Senate Resolution Signed in the Tense Days After the Union's Humiliating Defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Seven Passages to a Flight, an Artists Book with a Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold, the Publisher's Own Copy. Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500
Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
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.
