How much are you willing to pay for a book? These fifteen most expensive books may surprise you.
We’re going to take a look at the most expensive books in the world! Would you spend 10, 20, or even 30 million dollars on a book? Keep reading!
Books are considered to be the biggest companion of those who want to explore the depth of knowledge and information at its best. There are some rare collections of books which are considered to be the most expensive in regard to its historical value and significance.
If you are a millionaire and have passion for such rare collection of manuscripts, a couple of million dollars is not a big deal compared to the books’ worth.
Here, we discuss some of the prominent books which are accepted to be most expensive in the global scenario. Let’s get into it!
15. The Tales of Beedle and Bard – $3.98 million ($4.5 million in 2016)
Let’s start the list off with the book written by J.K. Rowling. You probably know her as the author of Harry Potter. Well, this one was a part of the legendary series too. In fact, it was mentioned in the last book.
After Dumbledore’s passing, Hermione Granger was given the book in which she later found the symbol of Deathly Hallows.
There are only seven copies of The Tales of Beedle and Bard. All of them were handwritten and illustrated by the author herself. Thus, it should come as no surprise how precious the book can be.
$3.98 million. That is precisely how precious it is. In December of 2007, Sotheby’s expected it to sell for $77,000 only. Little did everybody know, someone was willing to pay for more. Today, it is worth $4.5 million.
14. Rules of Basketball – $4.3 million ($4.7 million in 2016)
Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world. NBA teams are earning not just millions, but billions of dollars. Even the retired basketball legend, Michael Jordan, is still earning from his Air Jordan brand.
This sport was invented by James Naismith in 1891. He wrote the rulebook and started the basketball program in the University of Kansas where he worked as a head coach.
That original rulebook, Rules of Basketball, was sold six years ago for $4.3 million. It was December, 2010 to be exact. Today, that is worth $4.7 million.
Most of the rulebook was typed. But there are several James’ handwritten notes here and there on the pages.
13. Biblia Pauperum – $2.42 million ($5 million in 2016)
Next up is a book that has all of the value of a remarkable book. One, it is historical. Two, it is art. And three, it is biblical.
Dated back to the year of 1460 until 1470, this Bible reflects two major changes in the human’s history. The first one is how our way of documenting. Back in the prehistoric era, human used drawings to tell a story. Nowadays, we use words. And the Biblia Pauperum used pictures and little words, sort of the combination between the two eras.
The second one is the Old and New Testaments. This bible visualizes the typological correspondences between those two.
The Gotha-Doheny copy was printed in Netherlands. Quaritch bought it for $2.42 million in October 1987. Today, that is worth around $5 million. It is the only copy in the United States.
12. Traité des Arbres Fruitiers – $4.5 million ($5.3 million in 2016)
Traité des Arbres Fruitiers was written by Henri-Louis Duhamel du Moncaeu in 1768. He was one of the leading French scientists back in the day. His fields of study were physics, engineering, and botany.
This particular book he wrote is just what its title says: Treatise on Fruit Trees. He had been into plant physiology since 1738 until the day he passed away.
That year, he was asked by the French Academy to investigate what was causing saffron plant destruction in Gatinais. His discovery earned him the admission to the academy.
This book was sold for $4.5 million ten years ago, in 2006. Today, it is worth around $5.3 million.
11. First Folio – $6.1 million ($8.2 million in 2016)
You wouldn’t expect books to be in the seven figure range. But the number 11 on our list is worth $6.1 million ($8.2 million today) and here’s why:
The book was written by the legendary William Shakespeare. Also known as Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies, the original copy of First Folio from the year of 1623 was available only for £1-2 in its early years.
However, its complete copy has become one of the most expensive books among collectors of modern age. As per survey, it is stated that only 228 complete copies out of 750 are available now in the global market.
In the year of 2001, one copy caught the attention of Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen. He purchased a copy of this book for value of $6,166,000 at the auction venue of Christie’s in New York.
10. Gutenberg Bible – $4.9 million ($10.2 million in 2016)
The Gutenberg Bible is also known as the Mazarin Bible. 49 copies were printed by Johannes Gutenberg in Germany from the year of 1450 to 1455. One of them is displayed at the New York Public Library. It was bought by James Lenox back in 1847.
Another copy hit a smashing record of auctioned bible for its sale price of $4.9 million in 1987. That is $10.2 million today. The Bible was sold at Christie’s after being displayed for a month in Japan.
It was bought by one of Japan’s biggest booksellers, Maruzen Co. Ltd. Perhaps planning to sell it again in several years for another smashing record?
One of the reasons why this Bible is worth that amount of money is its high aesthetic and artistic qualities. Written in Latin, it was the first mass-printed major book.
9. The Canterbury Tales – $7.5 million ($10.9 million in 2016)
In the year of 1998, The Canterbury Tales was sold off for an amount of £4.6 million ($7.5 million) at the privately held auction in Christie’s, London. It was declared to be the last copy for the original 1,477 first edition of the 15th century reputed manuscript.
The book was written by Geoffrey Chaucer. This particular copy was actually printed 78 years after his passing, 1478. Centuries after that, he is still known as the Father of English literature.
This copy was actually bought by the first Earl of Fitzwillian in the year of 1776 at the John Radcliffe’s library auction for a sell value of £6 only.
No doubt this is what we call multiplying your investments rightly. Well, of course, you had to wait more than two hundred years to replicate the same amount of success.
8. Les Liliacées – $5 million ($11 million in 2016)
Ranked 8th on our list is another collection of botanical bible. This one, titled Les Liliacées, was written by Pierre-Joseph Redoute in the 18th century. He was a Belgian painter and botanist. Those are the only two skills he needed to create this artistic masterpiece.
In 1985, the book was sold to W. Graham Arader, a rare-book dealer, for $5.5 million at Sotheby’s. That is $11 million today.
As its title says, The Lilies, the book consists of pictures of flowers in the gardens of Malmaison, St. Cloud, Versailles, and Sevres. Those remarkable paintings are not just beautiful, but also heavy. Literally.
The book comprises 16 volumes. And it weighs a total of 320 pounds. So, Arader went home with an empty pocket but a handful heavy bag.
7. The Birds of America – $11.5 million ($12.5 million in 2016)
There is not only one, but three copies of The Birds of America are in the top ranks of most expensive books. Those three are among the 119 complete copies of the book that are available in the whole world.
The first of the three was sold in the year of 2000. That copy was sold off for $8,802,500 at the Christie’s. Another one was sold four years ago, in 2012, for $7.9 million (or $8.1 million today). The most expensive one, which is ranked 7th on our list of expensive books, was sold in the year of 2010.
That first edition complete copy of the book was sold at the Sotheby’s of London for around £7,321,250 (approximately $11.5 million).
The book itself was written by John James Audubon from 1827 to 1838. He was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. That book he wrote was based on his extensive studies in all types of American birds.
6. Bay Psalm Book – $14.2 million ($14.4 million in 2016)
The Bay Psalm Book is a metrical Psalter or Bible translation. This one was the first printed in British North America (Cambridge, Massachusetts to be exact), back in 1640 by the Puritan leaders.
Even though over 1,000 of it printed, there are only eleven copies left of the historical first edition. Most of them are owned by universities and libraries. However, one goes to a financier and philanthropist, David Rubenstein.
Just three years ago, in November 2013, David bought it at Sotheby’s auction from the Boston’s Old South Church. The price was a staggering $14.2 million.
The church actually owned two copies. The other copy is not going to be sold. Despite having some printing mistakes, it is still the sixth most expensive book ever sold.
5. St. Cuthbert Gospel – $14.3 million ($14.7 million in 2016)
Also known as the Stonyhurst Gospel, the St. Cuthbert Gospel may not be the most expensive book, but it is definitely the most ancient on our list. It came from the 7th century.
The writer of this pocket book remains unknown. Its leather binding survived centuries of usage and storage. It was found within the Saint Cuthbert’s coffin. Apparently, it was either belonged to him or written as a dedication to the saint after his passing.
In April 2012, this original St. Cuthbert Gospel was sold to The British Library for $14.3 million. The book is not just precious in religious point of view. It also holds an important historical value.
The St. Cuthbert Gospel is arguably the oldest European book to survive the centuries of age and still fully intact.
4. Rothschild Prayerbook – $13.4 million ($19.3 million in 2016)
The Rothschild Prayerbook was written by numerous artists from the year of 1500. It was first purchased by the Austrian National Library in 1999 for a staggering amount of $13.4 million. That is a total of approximate $19.3 million today.
Then, just two years ago, Christie’s announced the book’s availability fifteen years after its world-record sale. This time, it was purchased by an Australian businessman, Kerry Stokes, at the auction.
On this auction, it was sold for $13.6 million. Technically, that price is higher than the previous sale. However, with the inflation, the book was actually worth a little under $19 million by the time Kerry bought it.
This Rothschild Prayerbook is now being displayed in the National Library of Australia.
3. Magna Carta – $21.3 million ($24.3 million in 2016)
Magna Carta, the Latin for “Great Charter”, is third on our most expensive book list. Back in 2007, just a few days before Christmas, the Sotheby’s held an auction in New York. This magnificent manuscript was the star of the event.
The staggering purchase was made by David Rubenstein, which you saw earlier in this list as the buyer of Bay Psalm Book. However, Rubenstein didn’t buy those for his own collection. He bought them to be retrieved back to the National Archives for public display. What a generous philanthropist.
The original one was drafted in 1215. This particular Magna Carta is actually just a copy written in 1279. Nevertheless, it is still worth $21.3 million. That is $24.3 million today.
Quoting the Sotheby’s, Magna Carta is an object of both emulation and veneration. This charter was agreed to by King John of England.
2. Gospels of Henry the Lion – $11.7 million ($27.8 million in 2016)
The second most expensive book in the world is The Gospels of Henry the Lion by the Order of Saint Benedict (also known as the Black Monks) in the year of 1175!
Auctioned at a hooping amount of $11.7 million, this gospel book was actually custom built by Henry Lion (the Duke of Saxony) for the altar of Virgin Mary at the Brunswick Cathedral Church.
In the year of 1983, this book was bought over by the German government for £8,140,000 which is equal to $11.7 million at the Sotheby’s of London.
Accepted as the masterpiece of the Romanesque 12th century manuscript, the Gospels of Henry the Lion comprises of 266 pages with 50 complete pages of illustrations and artworks.
1. Codex Leicester – $30.8 million ($49.2 million in 2016)
Codex Leicester is one of the most famous scientific journals of Leonardo da Vinci from the year of 1500s. It consists of 72 pages of handwritten muses and theories that is in relation to everything ranging from water movement to fossils and moon glow.
This manuscript is the closest notebook of the writer and thinker. It was first purchased by Thomas Coke in the year of 1717 who was appointed as the Earl of Leicester in 1980s.
Then, in 1994, this notebook was taken over by Bill Gates at a journal auction for price value of $30,800,000, thus making it one of the most expensive books in the world purchased till date.
Gates also had this book scanned and used as the screen saver of the Windows 95 of Microsoft Plus!
