Topline A pair of books by Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle once owned by English musician Charlie Watts broke individual records for the beloved authors at Christie’s auction house in London Thursday, months after an 800-year-old copy of the Bible earned the title of the most expensive book ever sold.
A copy of „The Hound of the Baskervilles“ by Arthur Conan Doyle is auctioned off at Christie’s in … [+] London on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023.
Christie’s Key Facts The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie sold for $63,968, breaking her personal record of a $50,641 copy of The ABC Murders, which sold two years ago.
The $226,555 sale of The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle on Thursday set a new world auction record for a printed book by the renowned Sherlock Holmes creator, previously set at $201,600 when a copy of The Sign of Four sold in 2022.
Both books belonged to Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, who died two years ago—Thursday was the first day of a two-part auction of his books and jazz memorabilia.
The market for rare books has taken on a new life as a “new generation” of book lovers have entered the market, Bruce McKinney, founder of the Rare Book Hub, told the New York Post last month.
The market for books at auction jumped to $1.15 billion in 2021, McKinney estimated, and rare works are selling for more than ever before.
Specialist Gretchen Hause told the Post that book sales at Hindman Auctions in Chicago were averaging about $750,000 when she joined 2017—she estimates that’s jumped to $5 million this year.
Book enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s are making up more of the rare book market than ever before, the New York Times reported last year, and the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America trade group has created a diversity initiative to encourage „underrepresented groups in the world of book collecting“ to break into the market.
Crucial Quote “The world of the archive is actually considered pretty hip,” Michael F. Suarez, the director of the Rare Book School at the University of Virginia, told NYT.
The Most Expensive Books Ever SoldTooled and embossed seventeeth-century clamshell box and leather binding of Leonardo’s Codex … [+] Leicester. (Photo by Seth Joel/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
Corbis/VCG via Getty ImagesDa Vinci’s Codex Leicester manuscript—Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates spent $30.8 million in 1994, the equivalent of $64.68 million today, on a notebook of Leonardo da Vinci called the Codex Leicester manuscript. Dating back to the 16th century, the work includes sketches, diagrams and early theories from da Vinci in his own print.
The Codex Sassoon, the earliest most complete edition of the Hebrew Bible, is pictured on March 22, … [+] 2023.
AFP via Getty ImagesWorld’s Oldest Bible—A near-complete Hebrew Bible that could date back to the 9th Century, known as the Codex Sassoon, sold at auction in May for $38.1 million, which Sotheby’s called the most valuable book ever sold, not adjusted for inflation. The book was bought as a gift for the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.
An 1830, first edition of the Mormon scripture, „Book of Mormon“ is displayed at the Church of Jesus … [+] Christ of Latter-Day Saints Church History Library.
Getty ImagesBook of Mormon—The Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints paid $35 million in 2017 for an early, hand-written copy of the Book of Mormon. The church purchased a printer’s manuscript of the religious text, believed to have been engraved on golden plates in its original form, from the Community of Christ, entirely with donations, per Smithsonian Magazine.
View of the Gospels of Henry the Lion and Matilda of England, once the most expensive book in the … [+] world, in the Duke August Library in the Lessing City of Wolfenbüttel.
dpa/picture alliance via Getty ImagesGospels of Henry the Lion—Considered one of the great examples of Romanesque illuminated manuscripts, the Gospels of Henry the Lion was made in the 12th century on commission for the German Duke of Saxony. Romanesque illumination added lavish decorations and illustrations to manuscripts and the practice flourished in Germany through the late 1000s and 1100s. The Gospels of Henry the Lion sold for $20.7 million in 1983.
An original copy of the Magna Carta is on display at Sotheby’s December 7, 2007 in New York City.
Getty ImagesMagna Carta—A now 725-year-old copy of the Magna Carta, which put into writing that the King of England was not above the rule of law, sold at Sotheby’s for $21.3 million in 2007. It has been on display at the National Archives and Records Administration since 1988 and is the last remaining copy in the United States, Reuters reported at the time of the sale. It is only one of 17 copies known to exist.
Gospel of St. John — The oldest known still-intact book in Europe, known as the St. Cuthbert Gospel because it was preserved in the tomb of Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, sold to the British Library in London for $14 million in 2012. The red-leather-bound copy of the Gospel of St. John dates back to the 7th century, per NPR.
A Sotheby’s employee handles a copy the “Bay Psalm Book”, the first book printed in 1640.
AFP via Getty ImagesBay Psalm Book—Believed to be the first book ever published in the United States, this book of psalms sold for $14.2 million in 2013, the Los Angeles Times reported. The Bay Psalm Book was published by the Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1640.
Rothschild Prayerbook—Australian businessman Kerry Stokes, the 570th richest man in the world as of Thursday, bought the Rothschild Prayerbook for $13.6 million in 2014. The Flemish manuscript, which dates back to the 16th century, was confiscated by the Nazis and later returned by the German government.
An illustration engraved by Robert Havell, Jr. and published in „Birds of America“ by John James … [+] Audubon.
Corbis via Getty ImagesBirds of America—The most expensive non-religious text ever sold, this collection of observations and illustrations of birds by John James Audubon sold for $9.6 million in 2010. The large book, which features more than 400 hand-drawn illustrations at life size, was purchased by an anonymous buyer at Christie’s and previously belonged to American businessman Carl Knobloch Jr.
Further Reading Sotheby’s To Bring 25,000 Bottles From Billionaire Pierre Chen’s Grand Wine Collection To Auction (Forbes)
Paul McCartney’s Guitar String Is Set To Sell At Auction For Thousands Of Dollars (Forbes)
Freddie Mercury’s Grand Piano Sells For $2.1 Million At Record-Breaking Auction For Rock Legend’s Possessions (Forbes)