AbeBooks, the premier website for selling old and rare books, has released the list of the twelve most expensive items purchased on their website from April-June 2023. It consists of a mix of books and artwork from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This is all worthy material as the prices are all over $10,000. Here is the list.
12. Le Gout du Bonheur by Pablo Picasso, published in 1970, the Paris edition (there were three). Reproductions of three of Picasso's notebooks, supervised by the artist himself, with a signed frontispiece. $11,030.
11. Ulysses by James Joyce, a first edition from 1922. Not much more need be said about one of the most acclaimed books of the 20th century. $11,268.
10. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, a 1942 third impression. $11,528.
9. Codex Manesse, a 1925-27 facsimile. The Codex Manesse is an early 14th century German manuscript containing the works of 130 Medieval poets with miniatures of their portraits. $13,069.
8. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, published in 1943. Without the dust jacket, but signed by the author. $13,525.
7. Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist by Albert Einstein and Paul Arthur Schilpp, published in 1949. Signed by Einstein, it focuses on his philosophy of science more than specifics of his discoveries, though you'd have to be an Einstein to fully understand him. $15,025.
6. Liberté des Libertés by Allain Jouffroy and Joan Miró, published in 1971. One of 24 copies of a suite of prints signed by Miró. $18,001.
4. (tie). The First Six Books of the Elements of Euclid by Oliver Byrne, published in 1847. Byrne used colored shapes to replace letters in mathematical equations, believing it would be easier to learn that way. Very unlikely, but what he created was a beautiful, pre-Cubism work of art. $20,000.
4. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, published in 1985. This is a signed first edition of the fifth book by the noted writer who died a few weeks ago. $20,000.
3. Layla and Majnun by Nizami Ganjavi, a 19th century illustrated manuscript of the 12th century love story. If the story is not well known in the West, the heroine's name is thanks to Eric Clapton (Majnun could have written the lyrics). $23,223.
2. Autograph letter by T. E. Lawrence (signed as “T. E. Shaw”), dated December 22, 1924. He responds to a businessman inquiring about subscribing to what became The Seven Pillars of Wisdom two years later, asking “Do you feel justified in chucking away so much on an amateur production? The writing is pretentious, dull, hysterical, egotistical, + preternaturally long.” Other than that, it was a good book. $26,778.
1. Colonia Leopoldina in Bahia - Helvecia by Jean-Frederic Bosset de Luze, a 19th century watercolor. If depicts a major coffee producing plantation in Brazil, worked primarily by slaves. $27,745.
