AbeBooks Lists Its Most Expensive Sales Prices for July-September
- by Michael Stillman
The Sistine Chapel.
AbeBooks has issued their list of the most expensive sales on their website for the third quarter of 2022, July through September. The visual plays an increasing role this time. As AbeBooks explains, “Our list is dominated by fine art in various forms and includes an illustrated book of poetry, a portfolio of surreal lithographs, a new luxury book showcasing iconic Renaissance art, and a complete set of influential French art magazines.” Ever since television came along and won over hearts from radio, this has been becoming a more visual world. Here is AbeBooks list of the Top 15 prices from the third quarter.
15. Alcoholics Anonymous by Bill W. (Wilson), aka the “Big Book.” Anonymously written and first published in 1939 (this is a first edition), it has helped to save countless lives ever since. $11,500.
14. Spherical Trigonometry by Murray J. Leventhal & Charles Salkind, published in 1943. If you can understand this book you are smarter than I. Signed by famous British code breaker Alan Turing. $11,600.
12 (tie). A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, an 1843 first edition. Scrooge never would have paid this much. $12,000.
12 (tie). A typed and signed letter from Virginia Woolf, dated November 6, 1932. Addressed to essayist and critic Logan Pearsall Smith. Evidently about strained relations in Chelsea, everyone laughing behind each other's back. $12,000.
11. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Published in 1997, this is a first edition, fourth printing of the first Harry Potter book.
10. Coronation Gospels of the Holy Roman Empire, facsimile published in 2012. The original was created around the year 800 at the behest of Charlemagne, the empire's first emperor. Not surprisingly, it is a beautiful work of art. $15,200.
9. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, an 1873 first edition of a long journey underwater. $17,500.
8. Verve Magazine, a complete set of 38 issues from 1937-1960 of this French art periodical. $19,900.
7. A Journey to the Center of the Earth, a first American edition from 1874. This time, Jules Verne went deep into the earth rather than the sea. It included a laid-in Verne signature. $20,000.
6. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, a 1968 first American edition. It included a letter by Dick. Do they? $21,275.
5. The Sistine Chapel by Vatican Museums, a three-volume elephant folio book (75 lbs. in weight) published in 2020. Compiled from 270,000 photographs it reproduces the images of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. $22,000.
4. The Dark Tower by Stephen King, first editions of all nine books in the series, all signed by King, published 1985-2012. $24,000.
2 (tie). Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, a 1936 first edition signed by the author. I wish I was in Dixie. $25,000.
2 (tie). Les Vitraux by Salvador Dalí published in 1973. A folio of 24 loose colored lithographs by the surrealist artist, including the melting clock from his Persistence of Memory. $25,000.
1. Cantique des Cantiques de Salomon (Song of Songs) published in 1931. The French edition of the Cranach Press masterpiece, featuring the wood engravings of Eric Gill. Only eight copies were created in French. $35,000.
Sotheby’s Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone 25 June – July 7
Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000.
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000
Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500
Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000
Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000
Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000
Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000
Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000
Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000
