The top priced book sold on AbeBooks in 2009, by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
By Michael Stillman
In 2009, AbeBooks regularly had around 110 million books posted for sale on their website. We don't have the figures, but estimate something in the 8 to 10 million area were sold, mostly used books, intended for reading, reference or school. The average price was probably in the $20 range. This story is not about the average Abe book. It's about the very best. Occasionally, the site is host to the sale of the uncommon, rare or antiquarian book. This is where Abe intersects with the world of highly collectible books. As 2009 came to a close, AbeBooks went back to its sales for the year and compiled a list of the Top 10 prices paid during the previous 12 months. Actually, there are 12 books in the Top 10, though the numbers only go through 9. That riddle is solved with the word "tie." Here, then, are the most expensive books sold via the AbeBooks website for the year 2009.
9. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger' s tale of youth, a first edition published in 1951. $11,000.
9. Tender is the Night, another first edition of an American classic by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1934. $11,000.
9. The Origin of Species, an 1860 first American edition of the book that introduced Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. $11,000.
9. The Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ, an item perhaps more appealing to those who do not care for the #9 above. This is a 1931 Golden Cockerel Press edition by Eric Gill. $9,000.
8. Imre: A Memorandum by Xavier Mayne (pseudonym for Edward Irenaeus Prime-Stevenson). Inscribed by "X.M." This 1906 novel is considered the first to portray a homosexual relationship in a positive light. $12,000.
5. Works of Charles Dickens, a 22-volume Chapman and Hall set, along with a note of presentation dated 1859 from Dickens. $12,500.
5. Libellus ysagogicus Abdilasi Id est servi gloriosi dei: qui dicitur Alchabitius ad magisterium iuditiorum astrorum, a 1485 German edition of the works of 10th century Arabian astrologer Alchabitius. $12,500.
5. Dreams of My Father, published more than half a millennium after the previous item (1996). This is a first edition of the book by now President Barack Obama. $12,500.
4. YA-WAE PA-HU-CAE E-CAE AE-TA-NAE E-TU-HCE WA-U-N A-H A. Original Hymns in the Ioway Language by William Hamilton & Samuel M. Irvin. This is an 1843 hymnal in the Ioway dialect published by the Sac Mission Press. $13,500.
3. The Dark Tower Series, first editions of all seven volumes in the series in a signed slipcase from author Stephen King. $14,000.
2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, first London editions (1866, 1872) of the classics written by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by John Tenniel. $14,377.
1. Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de'Romaniand Osservazioni sopra la Lettre de M. Mariette by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. This is a book about ancient Roman structures, containing Piranesi's etchings of them. $17,000.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
