AbeBooks Top 20 Highest Prices Paid in January-March
- by Michael Stillman
There it is, Wendy. Second star to the right (AbeBooks image).
Here is a list of the twenty most expensive books purchased on the AbeBooks website during the first three months of 2022. There are books old and recent, in English and Latin, fiction and real, science and occult, and lots more. Tastes vary widely but one thing for certain is that the buyers were all collectors as no one pays this much for a reading copy. Now, here they are.
20. Friendship album of Mihály Pap. From 1765-1769. Pap was a student traveling around Europe. The album is a collection of messages, drawings, poems, autographs, etc., or as AbeBooks says, “rather like a print version of Facebook.” $10,470.
19. The Law of Success by Napoleon Hill. Eight volumes from 1928. One of the first self-help books. $10,630.
18. Ars magna lucis et umbrae, in decem libros digesta (the great art of light and shadow, in 10 books) by Athanasius Kircher, published in 1646. Kircher was a polymath who wrote about China, ancient Egypt, geology, science, technology, medicine, etc. This one is on light and optics. $10,770.
17. Wept of Wish-ton-Wish, A Tale by James Fenimore Cooper, published in 1829. Not his most famous book, it mines the frontier settler and native Indian narrative, though written while Cooper was in Europe. $11,000.
16. The Works of John Locke, published in 1714. Published 10 years after the death of the great English philosopher, empiricist, influencer on political liberalism and Enlightenment thinkers. $11,550.
15. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, published in 1953. A special fire-proof asbestos covered edition and presentation copy. Asbestos? $12,000.
13 tie. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, published in 1943. A tale of life for the immigrant poor at the turn of the last century. $12,500.
13 tie. The Awakening by Kate Chopin, published in 1899. One of the earliest novels to focus on women's issues. $12,500
12. First on the Moon: A Voyage with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. by Gene Farmer and Dora Jane Hamblin, published in 1970. The Apollo 11 moon landing, inscribed by Armstrong, signed by Aldrin and Collins. $13,750.
11. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, published in 1936. First issue, signed by Mitchell, but in a facsimile dust jacket.
10. Le Theatre du Monde ou Nouvel Atlas by Willem & Joan Blaeu, published in 1648. One of those great Dutch atlases of the 17th century. $15,825.
9. The Christmas Books by Charles Dickens, published from 1843-1848. First editions of A Christmas Carol and four others. $16,000.
8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, third edition and first illustrated from 1831. Do not mess with life! $19,500.
6 tie. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, published in 1843. Odd that it's more expensive than the entire set but this copy is accompanied by a letter from Dickens. $20,000.
6 (tie). Neverland concept art by Mary Blair. The original painting of the appearance of Neverland from behind the stars for Disney's movie. $20,000.
5. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster, published in 1924. Signed and inscribed by Forster in 1944. $23,700.
4. Hydrodynamica, sive De Viribus et Motibus Fluidorum Commentarii by Daniel Bernoulli, published in 1738. The mathematics and laws of fluids. $25,000.
3. The Book Of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians by Aleister Crowley, published in 1944. This is a work of the occultist, sort of an anti-John Locke. $27,500.
2. Hinterlassene Werke Des Generals Carl Von Clausewitz (the surviving works of General Carl Von Clausewitz), 10 volumes published 1832-1837. Von Clausewitz was a Prussian General who wrote about psychological and political aspects of war, including the “fog of war” that makes decision-making difficult. $27,750.
1. First edition set of Captain James Cook's three voyages, written by Cook, John Hawkesworth, and James King. Nine volumes from 1773, 1777, and 1784. One of the greatest of all exploration books. The tenth most expensive item ever sold on AbeBooks. $50,000.
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.
