The third most expensive AbeBooks sale of all time
Welcome to our most expensive sales of July, August, and September 2024. A collection of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone first editions became our third most expensive sale of all time. Plus: Futurism, Surrealism, quantum theory, and more.
A collection of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" first editions by J. K. Rowling - $105,700
It usually takes decades for a book to gain significant value in the rare book market and enter ‘collectible’ territory. The Harry Potter series, with its last book published in 2007, is a significant exception.
This Harry Potter collection has become the third most expensive sale on AbeBooks of all time, and it is unique for a few reasons. Not only does it contain four hardcover first edition copies of the book to kick off Potter-mania. Each copy represents a different impression of the first UK edition, each with its own idiosyncrasies. In the first impression, for example, there is an error on page 53. In the list of school supplies Harry will need for Hogwarts, ‘wand’ is listed twice.
This is the second first impression copy of this title to make AbeBooks’ list of the most expensive sales of all time. The first sold for $85,620 in 2023.
Sold by First and Fine
At First and Fine we have sold several UK first edition copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone over the years, but this was the first time we found a new home for the first four impressions of the title in one collection. The sale proves that Potter-mania continues strong with no signs of slowing down. Collectors will find more Harry Potter titles in our stock.
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - $40,000
At a time when women were often valued for their dowry, 19-year-old Mary Shelley wrote a story that would be called the first true example of science fiction, and one of the most influential novels of all time.
This incredibly rare copy from the first American edition was printed fifteen years after the first British edition, and can be distinguished by its misspelling of the author’s surname as ‘Shelly.’
Shelley’s Frankenstein explores themes of unchecked ambition, scientific ethics, and the nature of monstrosity. Likely inspired by the Industrial Revolution, her story continues to resonate deeply within popular culture today.
Sold by Burnside Rare Books
After all these years, Frankenstein still speaks to us because it combines such a beautiful mix of horror, profound loneliness, madness, creation, and destruction. It's one of the most enduring and influential works of English literature, and it's incredible this work was published when the author was a mere 20 years old.
A complete collection of 50 manifestos of Italian Futurism - $27,100
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in 20th century Italy. Inspired by the cities, technology, speed, and latent violence in the world around them, the Futurists created an ideology for their glorified and highly politicized concept of modernity.
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944) published his Manifesto of Futurism in Parisian newspaper Le Figaro in 1909, launching the avant-garde Futurism movement and opening the gates for many manifestos to follow.
On the significance of Futurism, the collection’s seller, Giacomo Coronelli of Libreria Antiquaria Pontremoli in Milan, said, “Italian Futurism came to influence every other avant-garde movement in the world.”
Sold by Libreria Antiquaria Pontremoli
The collection we sold was carefully assembled by a devoted collector and connoisseur during many years of research and encompassed all the primary and essential manifestos in their definitive original edition as a leaflet or booklet.
The Whole Works of Homer translated by George Chapman - $22,500
Here we have the first collected edition of George Chapman's celebrated translations, circa the 17th century.
George Chapman (d. 1634) was an English dramatist, translator, and poet, and often considered the true identity behind the ‘Rival Poet’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Chapman’s translations of Homer – including the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the later parody of the Iliad, Batrachomyomachia (The Battle of the Frogs and Mice) – are some of the most famous in the English language, and the means through which many great English writers came to know the Ancient Greek poet.
Two hundred years after it were published, in 1816, English Romantic poet John Keats was inspired by Chapman’s translation of the Odyssey to write On First Looking into Chapman's Homer:
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold.
Sold by Heritage Book Shop
The Letterpress Shakespeare (Complete 39 Volume Set) - $21,995
The Folio Society is an independent London-based publisher producing lavish, illustrated hardcover books. This complete 39 volume set of Shakespeare copies is part of a limited numbered edition, published by The Folio Society between 2007 and 2014; all volumes are numbered 199.
The set uses Oxford University Press text, having been edited by a panel of scholars under General Editor Stanley Wells.
The letterpress volumes come quarter-bound in goatskin leather, blocked in gold with hand-marbled paper sides. Each copy is presented alongside a companion buckram bound volume, complete with text of the play and full explanatory notes (in case the reader needs a refresher).
Sold by Broad Street Books
At Broad Street Books, we curate extraordinary works like the Letterpress Shakespeare set - where literary mastery meets exquisite craftsmanship. Each piece in this collection exemplifies our commitment to offering rare, meticulously crafted books for discerning collectors.
L'Apocalisse by Giorgio de Chirico (with a letter for Massimo Bontempelli) - $20,000
Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) was an Italian artist known for his Metaphysical art, employing intentionally distorted perspectives and a melancholic, uneasy atmosphere.
Within his lifetime, de Chirico both inspired the Surrealists and provoked their disdain when he turned his back on metaphysical work, spoke out in opposition of modern art, and returned to skilled drawing.
This copy of de Chirico’s L'Apocalissel (or The Apocalypse) was published in 1941, long after his metaphysical period, and carries important provenance: it was first given to Italian author Massimo Bontempelli (1878-1960), who wrote its introduction, and even includes the original letter in which the editor requests Bontempelli’s input.
Sold by Manhattan Rare Book Company
It’s no surprise that if you combine one of the founders of surrealistic imaginative art with the fertile subject of The Apocalypse you’ll get a wild, masterpiece of book illustration. De Chirico created 20 large lithographs for L’Apocalisse, with sometimes frightening, sometimes oddly beautiful results. This was a special copy - presented to Massimo Bontempelli who wrote the introduction - and with all the lithographs signed by de Chirico.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - $18,750
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of The Little Prince, lived a rather remarkable life. De Saint-Exupéry both wrote and illustrated his poetic tale while in exile in New York during the Second World War. The very same month that the book was published, de Saint-Exupéry left the U.S. to fly reconnaissance missions with the French Air Force. It is believed he was shot down after his plane disappeared in 1944.
This first, limited, and numbered edition of The Little Prince was published and signed by de Saint-Exupéry in 1943. It includes a scarce, unclipped dust jacket with the original price of $2.00 and ‘#398’ handwritten on the spine. An original clipping from the April 11, 1943 New York Times Book Review is laid in, in which reviewer Beatrice Sherman describes the “rarefied quality of the high lonely spaces where a man’s mind has the range to ponder and question and wonder about the meaning of things.”
Sold by Copper Street Books
Copper Street Books is the online store of the Friends of the Public Library, a non-profit organization located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Friends provide funding for public library programs, including children’s programs, through the sale of books which are donated to the Friends from generous donors. Our volunteers were excited to receive this iconic and rare edition of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and its sale will fund important educational and literary programs in our community.
Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist by Albert Einstein and Paul Arthur Schilpp - $14,750
Two of the greatest theories of the physical world were created in the early 20th century. They are the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. And one man stood with a foothold in both: Albert Einstein. Einstein created the theory of relativity and was one of the founders of quantum theory.
This copy of Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist, written by Einstein and Paul Arthur Schilpp, is a limited edition, #64 of only 760 published. It is signed and dated by Einstein on the limitation page, and contains 25 ‘Descriptive and Critical Essays’ on his work from contemporaries such as Niels Bohr.
Another copy of the same edition sold on AbeBooks in 2023 for $15,025.
Sold by The First Edition Rare Books, LLC
This copy of Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist was kept in the same private collection for over 50 years. We were excited to bring it back to the public market after a long stay within a single family. The book includes the original $40 invoice from Open Court Publishing Company, purchased in 1968. That $40 inflates to $360 in today’s dollars, but the value of Einstein’s signature clearly grows exponentially with every passing day!
Le avventure di Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi - $13,110
For those who grew up with the Disney’s Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi’s original Le avventure di Pinocchio may come as a bit of a surprise. The well-known children’s story started in serial form in Giornale dei bambini (literally translated to ‘Children’s Magazine’). It is much darker than the film adaptation, and presents Pinocchio as more selfish and aggressive. Still, it’s morals have resonated with families worldwide. Pinocchio has been translated into more than 260 languages and remains one of the most popular children's stories ever told.
This extremely rare first edition predates both the film and the translations. Published in 1883, it shows signs of wear, foxing, and stains, but is in overall good condition.
Sold by librisaggi
History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark to the Sources of the Missouri, Thence Across the Rocky Mountains and Down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean - $12,500
This definitive account of the Lewis and Clark expedition was edited from journals of the pair – first by Nicholas Biddle and then by Paul Allen – before it was published in 1814. Fewer than 2000 copies of this first edition, containing the first authorized and complete account, were printed.
Between 1804 and 1806, Captain Meriwether Lewis and Lieutenant William Clark led the U.S. military expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest in what would become possibly the most important western expedition in U.S. history. The expedition produced invaluable maps and geographical information, and forged the path for numerous expeditions and settlements to come.
Sold by James Cummins Bookseller
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