Most Expensive Books Ever Sold

The 10 Most Expensive Books Ever Sold

Books used hundreds of years ago are probably the most important step in the evolution of humanity. From papyrus scrolls used in ancient Egypt to manuscripts in monasteries in the Middle Ages, books evolved into what we know today. Now they appear in digital form.

Whereas before Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in 1439, books had to be written and copied by hand, making them expensive and rare, today the process is so automated and much easier for their digital form that books have become quite cheap and accessible.

Someone may be surprised that today you can pay a large amount for a book, and they are still bought. There are a few books, mostly old ones, that are now very highly regarded.

Let's find out which books are in the top ten most expensive books ever sold:

10. The first folio of comedies, stories and tragedies by William Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare's collection of plays, known as the First Folio, is widely regarded as one of the most significant books ever published in the English language. It appeared in 1623 and is the only reliable source for 20 of the 36 published plays, making it extremely important.

The book was printed in 750 copies, and at that time it sold for between 15 shillings and one pound at the time of publication. Today, the First Folio is one of the most valuable printed books in the world. How expensive? Well, one copy was sold at Christie's in New York in October 2001 for an astounding $8.2 million.

9. Annotated copy of George Washington's Constitution and Bill of Rights of 1789

As a collection of important historical documents from the first Congress, it is one of the most important American books and historical documents. This copy, in particular, belonged to George Washington himself and contains his handwritten notes and notes from his first year as president.

The book, which has remained almost intact after more than 200 years, was sold at an auction in New York in 2012 for a whopping $10.2 million. The buyer was the Mount Vernon Women's Association, which preserves and maintains the Mount Vernon estate, which was also owned by George Washington.

8. The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer.

Written in the 14th century as a collection of short stories told in a competition, The Canterbury Tales made Geoffrey Chaucer one of the most important writers of his time.

It seems that only about a dozen copies of the first edition of this book exist, and one of them was sold at an auction in London in 1998 for the whopping sum of $11.1 million.

7. Birds of America, John James Audubon.

Birds of America is a book written by John James Audubon, an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. The book contains an extensive collection of images of birds from the United States, including six that are now extinct.

The first edition of the book was published between 1827 and 1838 in Edinburgh and London. The book is highly regarded for its artistic brilliance, so it's no surprise that the price that one art dealer in London paid in 2010 rose to $12.6 million.

6. Prayer Book of the Rothschilds.

The Rothschild Prayer Book, an important Flemish manuscript collection, was created by several artists around 1500 and contains 254 leaves. An illuminated handwritten clock book is a Christian religious book or manuscript containing psalms and prayers, the text of which is surrounded by a variety of decorations and illustrations, often made of gold or silver.

The book was first sold in 1999 by the Austrian National Library in Vienna, and then again at Christie's in New York in 2014. The last buyer, Australian businessman Kerry Stokes, paid a whopping $13.9 million. Today, the book is exhibited at the National Library of Australia.

5. The Book of Psalms.

This book, dating from 1640, is the first to be printed in British America, more specifically in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of eleven known surviving copies containing metrical translations of the Psalms into English. No, not metrical, like distance, metric, like the basic rhythmic structure of verse in poetry.

Since its rarity has further increased its historical value, the book is quite expensive. The replica was bought by Rubinstein at an auction in November 2013, and a hefty $14.5 million was paid for it.

4. The Gospel of St. Cuthbert.

Did you think pocket books were a recent invention? This is not the case, as the Gospel of St. Cuthbert is a pocket book of the Gospels dating from the eighth century. It is written in Latin and has an exquisitely decorated leather binding, the earliest known Western book binding.

The book consists of 94 parchment sheets and has a simple design. It was placed in the tomb of St. Cuthbert of Lindsfarne in northeast England, but somehow, centuries later, ended up at auction in 2011 and was sold to the British Library for a whopping $15 million.

3. Magna Carta for Liberty

The Magna Carta Libertatum is one very important book for the political life of England, a charter that King John of England agreed to on June 15, 1215 at Runnymede and which in turn was renewed by every monarch. It was published in 17 editions, but only one has survived.

Over time, the Magna Carta lost its practical significance, but acquired historical value. The book was sold in 2007 to billionaire Ross Perot for an astounding price of $24.5 million.

2. The Gospels of Henry the Lion.

The Gospel of Henry the Lion, created for the altar of the Virgin Mary in the church of St. Blaise's Abbey in Brinswick sometime in the 12th century, is an amazing work of art that showcases the fine craftsmanship of Romanesque monks.

The book contains the text of the four Gospels on 266 pages, 50 of which are full-page illustrations. As part of an initiative to return and preserve Germany's national treasures, the book was bought at auction in 1983 by the German government with the support of several private donors for an astounding $28 million. The book is kept in the Duke August Library in Wolfenbüttel and is exhibited every two years.

1. Leonardo da Vinci's Leicester Code

The codex, published in 1510, contains some of the scholarly works of the Italian Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci. It was named after Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester, who acquired the 72-page codex in 1719.

The Codex Leicester, which combines observations on astronomy, the properties of fossils, water and rocks, and the study of light, is not Leonardo da Vinci's only scientific journal, but it stands out for another fact. In November 1994, it was bought by Bill Gates for an incredible $49.4 million, making it the most expensive book ever sold.