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.
