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.
