Cars, houses, jewelry, and watches arent the only ones that can fetch ridiculous amounts of cash. It must be desirable from a famous author, most books published in the last century will never become valuable no matter how rare they get. Read up on the worlds rarest and most valuable books. Did you know that some of your favourite books can fetch thousands of pounds at auction. Diane hunter was one of the early 1950s most popular pinup models, having been featured in several calendars and finally the november 1954 issue of playboy. Hidden treasures on your bookshelf bottom line inc. Most collectible books of the decade 20002009 on abebooks. Top 10 rare books these old rare books are the most unique, bizarre, and exotic. Through their powerful search engine, they keep track of what titles are in demand, compiling a comprehensive look at the outofprint titles most searched for. Top 100 most valuable comic books of the golden age 19381956 the 100 most valuable comic books from each age. If you have one of these rare books sitting on a shelf, get ready to cash in.
In fact, these are some of the most expensive ever sold. Our friends at are definitely intheknow when it comes to sought after books. The rarest books in the world are highly sought after by collectors because theyre associated with a particular author or a major historical event or era, or simply because theyre incredibly old. The original edition there are only seven handmade copies. Most would never go through the trouble to obtain original copies, especially when reprinted versions contain the same information.
Top 10 most expensive rare books sold one can ask himself what makes a particular book an expensive one. Johannes gutenberg, printed 1456, 180 copies known to exist. List of most expensive books and manuscripts wikipedia. Top 10 most expensive rare books sold topteny magazine. Lot 5 of green shades of green old vintage antique rare hardcover random. First edition of the federalist, the most soughtafter of. Apparently, the canadian alfred a knopf editions are the copies that matter most to collectors.
Deemed as the most enduring work in english literature, the remaining copies are the some of most soughtafter books among book collectors around the globe. They say you cant put a price on a good book, but these works proved that some of us. Abebooks periodically publishes a list of the most stunning books recently sold. Other books featured multiple times on the list are the gutenberg bible, the first folio of shakespeare s plays and the north american indian with four separate copies. Youve probably read articles about all those insanely expensive and incredibly rare, collectible books like the highly covetable first edition of j. From 750 original copies, only around 228 remain today. Amongst this list of expensive books, most are ancient texts that bear significant historical value and some are literature works by hugely celebrated authors. Below are four of the most valuable and bestknown rare books today. If you have any old, secondhand or rare books, then get in touch. Most valuable childrens books you might already own. Many of these valuable modern books are from early in the careers of authors who only later became widely read. The exceedingly rare first volume was the only one to be completed by marx in his lifetime, while the second and third volumes were completed posthumously by. The king james bible, or the authorized version, was commissioned by. Books are made rare when there is a high demand from buyers but few known copies in existence.
The very first edition of harry potter and the philosophers stone was. Many editions of h2g2 are worth are worth a fair sum of money. After several months researching the marketplace, weve compiled a list of the 50 most valuable scientific documents sold at auction. The first atlas by claudius ptolemy 1477 considered one of the worlds first printed atlases, this original version of this work was created by claudius ptolemy in 150 ad. The 20 most valuable books of today loveantiques blog. If you own one of these rare books, youre sitting on a. But some books out there are so scarce, that their monetary value is simply eyewatering.
Look out for first editions, a full set of volumes, or titles that were manufactured as a oneoff, as these tend to be the most valuable. In the world of book collecting, old means very, very old. The worlds most valuable scientific books and manuscripts. These books are everything from banned misprint bibles to da vincis private journals.
Books can be very valuable, and not only because of what they contain between their pages. Extremely rare, kept in special conditions on the shelves of the worlds most famous libraries, first edition books are a slice of history, and their value can hardly be measured by money. Matthew haley, the director and head of books and manuscripts at auction house, bonhams, has shared his list of the twenty most valuable books in uk that could be lying in your own home. Our most valuable pennies list includes coins starting in 1856 up to the present 2020 including rare penny errors and rare varieties that could still actually be found in pocket change. The demand for a book is created by a combination of factors, often including status as a first edition, signed book, or written by a famous historical figure, illustrated by a. I totally need the copy of the the wonderful wizard of oz in my life. Along with the list, our expert has offered some helpful tips to prospectus book investors, on what to look out for when buying a book as a collectable or investment. The 20 most valuable books you might have at home daily. This page will deal with the most valuable of all, golden age comic books.
Rare and valuable books old and not so old books worth. We also purchase from public and private libraries, and will. First editions of birds of america have consistently been valued in the millions. It all comes down to supply and demand and condition. The most valuable books you may have at home we have commissioned a book expert to compile a list of the most valuable antique books that exist and could be owned by members of the public. Even though the most valuable books of the 20th century predate the 1960s, there are a fair number of books published since 1960 that have significant value. Theyre so valuable that buyers can pay thousands of pounds more than what the book originally cost. The picture shown on this page is a fifth printing, but the first printing is identical. Good to look out for at book swaps and garage sales.
This is a list of printed books, manuscripts, letters, music scores, comic books, maps and other. Most valuable us pennies highest value 1 cent coins. Also keep an eye on the latest superhero movies when digging through your vintage comic books. Many of the rare and antique vintage childrens books featured below have beautiful illustrations, and many of. The ten most expensive mormon books meridian magazine. If you have one of these rare books sitting on a shelf somewhere, get ready to cash in. The works of william shakespeare are amongst the most influential in the world, continuing to have great precedence in western literature 400 years after his death in 1616. This is the 2nd issue dust jacket very scarce because of the father cody mistake on the front flap later corrected in the 3rd issue to father callahan that was price clipped by doubleday and repriced. Rare or early editions by these famous writers are highly sought after. We will say that the golden age begins in 1938 and ends in 1956, when the. I have been selling rare mormon books for almost 30 years. On friday, christies new york auctioned a copy of john james audubons birds of america, which already holds the title of most valuable printed book in. The most valuable rare books in existence the telegraph. We all have memories of those special books we read as children, and biblio is happy to present a large collection of rare and antique vintage childrens books in the biblio rare book room.
The 10 most expensive books in the world the atlantic. They release an annual report of their findings, revealing what dusty volumes on our. In fact, according to the economist, a true list of the ten most valuable single books ever sold would have to include five copies of the birds of america. Of course, as with anything, rare comic books hold more value than common editions. With a sixfigure price tag, i think that most people would be surprised to learn that on a list of the ten most expensive mormon books, a first edition book of mormon. A book must fulfill several requirements to be valuable. These lists provide a remarkable insight in the world of rare book collecting and. Purchased by london dealer, simon finch rare books. Paul allen, the cofounder of microsoft and evidently an. Each sold at auction for thousands, and in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars. First editions of wellloved books can become the most prized in literature. These rare books cost thousands of dollars but heres where.
The original declaration of independence, signed by thomas jefferson, benjamin franklin, and john adams, is easily one of the rarest, most. The most expensive books in the world readers digest. Recently, a rare firstedition copy of harry potter and the. Browse the gallery and read up on some of the most valuable rare books in existence. Most collectible books of the decade published 20002009 1. Books can sell for millions of dollars, but only if. His first folio is so rare because it is the first authoritative collection of his plays, compiled by his friends and business partners who helped run his theatre company. Original copies, called first editions, are very rare and sought after by collectors. Top 50 rare and valuable books the following books are considered by many collectors to be the most rare and valuable.
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