Do you ever walk past the windows of Tiffany’s or Armani just to drool over what’s behind those windows? Well, unless you’ve got $30 million burning a whole in your pocket and you want to spend it on books, this post is going to be kind of the same experience.
we’ll explore the 10 most expensive books ever sold and see what makes them so valuable, causing people like bill gates to spend tens of millions for a copy. You’ll find that most of the books on this list are extremely rare, but some are also incredibly important historical documents, which is why they’re so valuable.
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what is the most expensive book in history?
here is the most expensive book ever sold, with prices adjusted for inflation:
1. leonardo da vinci codex leicester
original price: 30.8 million dollars
price adjusted for inflation: $54.4 million
The most expensive book ever sold was Codex Leicester, which was bought by Bill Gates in 1994 for $30.8 million, which is equivalent to about $54.4 million in 2021.
What’s so special about it? the codex leicester was essentially the scientific diary of leonardo da vinci. Created in 1510, it contains da Vinci’s drawings, theories, and observations about things like the movement of water, the luminosity of the moon, and why fossils of sea creatures can be found in mountains.
After its purchase, Gates had the codex digitally scanned and later released some of the images as screen savers and wallpapers for Windows 98 Plus.
Find more pages from the book here.
more of the most expensive books
Below are 9 more of the most expensive books on record.
2. the book of mormon
original price: $35 million
price adjusted for inflation: $37.35 million
The Book of Mormon holds the current record for the most expensive religious text ever sold. In 2017, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spent $35 million on a handwritten 1830 printing manuscript. That text was used to print the first copies of the Book of Mormon.
3. the gospels of henry the lion
original price: 11.7 million dollars
price adjusted for inflation: $30.73 million
The Gospels of Henry the Lion held the title of the most expensive book in the world until Bill Gates bought the Codex Leicester in 1994.
the gospel book was designed by henry the lion, duke of saxony, for the altar of the virgin mary in brunswick cathedral. it is considered a masterpiece of Romanesque book illumination and is believed to date from 1188.
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It was sold at auction in 1983 to a group of bidders that included the German federal government and other private donors.
4. the magna carta
original price: 21.3 million dollars
price adjusted for inflation: 26.9 million dollars
Issued in 1215, the Magna Carta is a royal bill of rights signed by King John of England. it was the first document to officially declare that the king and his government were not above the law. their intention was to prevent monarchies from exploiting their power and to put limits on royal authority.
David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, paid $21.3 million to ensure that a 1297 version of the historic document would remain in the United States, whose own government was heavily influenced by the principles laid out in the charter.
5. the st cuthbert’s gospel
original price: $14 million
price adjusted for inflation: $15.95 million
the street. Cuthbert Gospel, the oldest surviving European book, was purchased in 2012 by the British Library in London for $14 million.
had been buried with his writer, st. cuthbert, in 687. it was rediscovered in 1104 when st. Cuthbert’s remains were moved from a grave to a shrine.
The book was private property for several centuries until it was donated to a Jesuit community in Belgium, where it remained for 250 years. The book is available from the British Library’s online digitized manuscript database.
6. the psalm of the bay
original price: 14.2 million dollars
price adjusted for inflation: 15.94 million dollars
The Bay Book of Psalms was the first book printed in British North America. It was published in 1640, twenty years after the first pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock.
Eleven copies are known to exist. In 2013, David Rubenstein bought one for $14 million. he frequently lends it to libraries.
7. the rothschild prayer book
the rothschild prayer book is a 16th century flemish manuscript bound in gold and filled with paintings and illustrations by master renaissance artists.
named for the book from the wealthy rothschild family who acquired it sometime after 1868. it is not known where the book resided for the previous 350 years.
the book was stolen by the nazis in 1938. hitler gave it to the vienna national library in 1942, but when the war ended, the library refused to return it to the rothschilds. It was finally returned to its rightful owners in 1999 and sold in 2014 to billionaire Australian businessman Kerry Stokes for $13.6 million.
original price: 13.6 million dollars
price adjusted for inflation: $15.3 million
8. birds of america by john james audubon
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Ornithologist and painter John James Audubon traveled the United States studying native bird species and other wildlife, recording his observations and creating stunning illustrations along the way.
his birds of america is a four-volume masterpiece with only 119 copies in existence, most of which belong to libraries and museums. The collection is revered by naturalists and scientists alike, and many of the audubib names for species are still used by researchers.
In 2010, the highest bid for a Birds of America bird was $11.5 million.
original price: 11.5 million dollars
price adjusted for inflation: 13.8 million dollars
9. the gutenberg bible
original price: 5.4 million dollars
price adjusted for inflation: $12.43 million
Gutenberg’s Bible was the first complete book to be printed with movable type, with Johannes Gutenberg’s press in 1455.
49 Gutenberg Bibles are known to exist, but only 21 are complete. since japan lacked a gutenberg bible, in 1987
You can browse one of them at the University of Texas at Austin.
since there was no gutenberg bible in japan in 1987, a japanese bookseller, maruzen company, bought an incomplete copy for 5.4 million dollars.
10. the canterbury tales by geoffrey chaucer
original price: 7.5 million dollars
price adjusted for inflation: $12 million
In 1998, British billionaire and philanthropist John Paul Getty Jr. He bought an extremely rare 1477 first edition of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales for $7.5 million. only 12 copies of the first edition are known to exist.
what is the rarest book in the world?
One of the rarest books in the world is Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester, which is why it also tops this list as the most expensive. bill gates bought the only known copy in 1994, but regularly lends it to libraries and museums.
a book lover’s treasure
While most book lovers will never own a copy of these rare and expensive books, you never know what rare finds you might stumble upon in your closet, at a yard sale, or at your local book store. used. Check out our tips for finding and identifying rare books.
If you’re not exactly in the market for expensive books right now, we’ve got you covered with the best places to find cheap used books.
Did you find this post useful? Let us know in the comments below!
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