AbeBooks Releases Their List of the Ten Most Expensive Books for the Second Quarter of 2024
- by Michael Stillman
A virtual Lord Byron library.
AbeBooks has released their list of the Top 10 most expensive books purchased on their site for the second quarter of 2024, April-June. Collectors weren't holding back, the dollars flowing freely for a diverse collection of books and manuscripts. Here is that list of AbeBooks' ten most expensive books.
10. L'Antiquité Expliquée, et Représentée en Figures by Dom Bernard de Monfaucon. Published in 15 volumes with 1,296 plates in the early 18th century, the author was a monk best known for his studies of paleography and archaeology. Sold by Robert Frew. $15,000.
9. Chateaubriand by Jules Lemaitre. This copy is noted more for its association than the book itself. It was a gift from Edith Wharton to fellow writer Henry James. They were long-time friends. It is inscribed to James from “E. W.” In a letter James responded by thanking Wharton for two books, one being this copy of Chateaubriand. Sold by Peter Harrington. $15,900.
8. Yo, Judio (Me, Jew) by Jorge Luis Borges, published in the magazine Megafono in 1934. Borges responds to an attack on him from another magazine, one sympathetic to Nazism. This is his original manuscript. Sold by Chaco 4ever Books. $19,000.
7. Political, Miscellaneous and Philosophical Pieces by Benjamin Franklin. Published in 1779 and edited by British diplomat and Franklin friend Benjamin Vaughan, they encompass the American statesman's non-scientific writings up to that time. Sold by Peter Harrington. $19,100.
6. Finnegans Wake by James Joyce. Written over 17 years, this was Joyce's final work. This copy is a signed limited edition. Sold by TBCL The Book Collector's Library. $19,500.
5. Animal Farm by George Orwell. The animals are running the farm, and they can be as bad at doing it as humans. Sold by West Hull Rare Books. $21,000.
4. Autograph Manuscript Mes Secrets Sinematographiques (My Cinematic Secrets) by Salvador Dali, published in La Parisienne in February 1964. Michel Déon had to decipher Dali's unusual spelling, syntax, and phonetically written Catalan accent. Dali added two small sketches of Francis Bacon, grotesque and cubist. Sold by Adam Andrusier Autographs. $22,300.
3. It's A Battlefield by Graham Greene. A true first edition, the copy is signed and inscribed “Clive affectionately,” that being his friend actor Clive Francis. Sold by John Atkinson Books. $23,550.
2. Zur Farbenlehre (Theory of Colors) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Published in 1808, Goethe wrote of science as well as novels, this one challenging Newton's optics with a more subjective approach to color perception. Sold by Antiquariat INLIBRIS Gilhofer Nfg. GmbH. $27,000.
1. Works of George Gordon Byron. A collection of 21 works in first edition by English poet Lord Byron. Sold by Biblioctopus. $80,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections Open for Bidding 2-17 April
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.
