Reading Copy Book Blog

AbeBooks top 10 most expensive sales for November 2008

1. Goslarer Gospels - $7,470
Limited facsimile edition of 300 copies published in 1990. A replica of one of the most exquisite books from the 13th century. Bound in leather with 30 biblical scenes.

2. Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell - $7,000
A complete set of the children’s fantasy series containing Beyond the Deepwoods, Stormchaser, Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, Cloud Wolf, Curse of the Gloamglozer, Last of the Sky Pirates, Vox, and Freeglader. All titles are first UK editions with signatures of Stewart and Riddell.

3. Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Arctic Ocean, in 1833, 1834, and 1835; Under the Command of Capt. Back, R. N. by Richard King - $5,995
Published in 1836 in full leather, this first edition describes the George Black Arctic expedition. Written by the chief surgeon and naturalist on board the vessel, this is an important companion work to Black’s account of the journey.

4. Cinq livres De l’imposture et tromperie des diables: des enchantements et sorcelleries, pris du latin de Jean Wier by Johann Weyer - $5,867
Five books on the attacks and deception of devils written by Weyer, who was a leading Dutch physician, occultist and demonologist. He was one of the first people to campaign against the persecution of witches. Published in 1570.

5. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama - $5,500
Signed first edition of the 2004 reissue of the President-elect’s first book.

6. Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer - $4,000
A complete set of all four books from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series. All books are first editions, first printings in fine condition. All copies are signed by the author.

7. Autograph of Sir. Joshua Reynolds - $3,764
A rare autograph from the 18th century portrait painter.

8. Wolf to the Slaughter by Ruth Rendell - $3,841
First edition in fine condition of the author’s scarcest book - signed and published in 1967

9. Encyclopedie Paris 1751-1772 by Diderot & d’Alembert - $3,911
The copy which was sold was a reproduction in 18 volumes bound in fine brown silk; includes 3000 original etchings of Paris with captions and more than 1,000 entries in French. This 1981 replica was limited to 3,000 copies. No more copies like this exist on AbeBooks, but here is the closest example.

10. Histoire Charmante De L’Adolescente Sucre D’Amour by Joseph Mardrus and Francois-Louis Schmied - $3,781
A 1927 limited pressing of only 150 copies of Mardrus’ work with illustrations by Swiss engraver François-Louis Schmied. Again copies of Sucre D’Amour illustrated by F.L. Schmied no longer exist on AbeBooks you can find the book itself, or other books illustrated by Schmied on the site

According to the Associated Press, it’s not just me feeling extra humbug this winter. Tough times all around are sending people in search of familiar warm-fuzzies to beat the blues and blahs. And what better way to get in the holiday spirit than by revisiting some of the stories about the holidays that made us feel best, both in childhood and even for grown-ups.

The mortgage meltdown, job squeeze and clash between rich and poor evoke long-popular holiday tales with ghostly clarity, offering messages of hope, faith and togetherness during an intensely uncertain year, says William J. Palmer, an English professor and Charles Dickens expert at Purdue University.

“The real reason that readers have always returned to `A Christmas Carol’ year after year since the 1840s is that it provides a way of reinvigorating the spirit of Christmas that everyone wants to feel during this season, no matter how hard the times or how bleak the economic outlook,” he said.

Some of the Christmas stories mentioned to help you believe in Santa again:

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus by Anonymous (really Francis Church, a Sun of New York staffer)
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
It’s a Wonderful Life based on The Greatest Gift by Philip van Doren Stern
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

Roast some chestnuts, curl up with cookies and eggnog, snooze in front of the fire, and read your holiday favourites - whatever it takes to hunker down and get through the long winter, warm and happy.

A rare, large fragment of papyrus with Greek writing of what is either the first or second oldest copy of the Gospel of John is up for sale this month, and likely to bring up to $460,000.

The fragment is believed to date to 200 AD, less than 170 years after the crucifixion of Christ, when Christianity was still illegal and around 100 years after experts believe the original Gospel was first written.

At last! Something to go with my clay cylinder from King Nebuchadnezzar II.

It’s an Italian-heavy week in book world news. The Bressani Prizes, awarded every two years to outstanding literary works by Canadian authors of Italian descent, have been announced last Thursday in Vancouver. According to CBC News, the winners were:

Toronto’s Elana Wolff for her collection of poetry entitled You Speak To Me In Trees;

Donna Caruso for her radio drama The Clothesline;

Darlene Madott for her short story collection Making Olives and Other Family Secrets; and

Victoria Miles for her novel, Magnifico.

The prize, re-established in 2000, is named after the Jesuit father Francesco Giuseppe Bressani (1612-72), the first Italian missionary to Canada, and is awarded by the Vancouver Italian Cultural Centre.

And in other news, a book called the most valuable new book on the planet is making its new home at the New York Public Library, after having been donated by the Italian publisher who produced the work. The tome, a dedication to the life and work of Michelangelo, weighs 28 kg (approximately 65 lbs) is said to be worth more than USD 100,000, is bound in velvet and marble, and took six months to create.

The book, titled Michelangelo. La Dotta Mano (The Learned Hand ) has a front cover made of white marble from Michelangelo’s favourite quarry, in Carrara. The binding is covered with a red silk velvet handmade by the same Italian shop that made the main stage curtains at The Metropolitan Opera and Milan’s Teatro Alla Scala.

Wow. Look how exquisite that is. I’d better start saving my pennies, because working at AbeBooks is giving me a real taste for beautifully crafted books.

The story of the day is from the UK’s Daily Mail….

A multi-millionaire businessman is facing jail for stealing hundreds of pages from rare ancient books worth £500,000 to store in his personal book collection. Iranian-born Farhad Hakimzadeh, 60, expertly cut the pages from treasured travel chronicles stored at the British Library in London and Oxford’s Bodleian for eight years without anyone noticing.

If you want to find out more about a book thief who simply couldn’t help himself, then read A Gentle Madness by Nicholas Basbanes.

A dentistry guide written by the dentist to King George III, detailing painful methods such as using pliers on crooked teeth, is to be auctioned reports the Daily Telegraph.

In a series of gruesome insights, the guide details how teeth should be straightened using gold wire. If that fails, the alternative was to “break the teeth into order by means of a strong pair of crooked pliers”.

He urges youngsters with milk teeth to “chew upon coral, wax and suchlike bodies” to deter decay. And he points out that “the boyish custom of carrying a table or chair in their mouth is as dangerous as it is absurd”.

Quite right. The book is called A Treatise on the Disorders and Deformities of the Teeth and Gums and the Most Rational Methods of Treating Them. AbeBooks has a special edition copy for sale.

Below are the top 10 sales for October 2008 on all AbeBooks sites

1. George Bernard Shaw’s typewriter $7,979
Along the top edge of the machine’s guarantee in faded ink, Shaw had written the words “Bernard Shaw, Ayot St Lawrence, Welwyn Herts”. He had also written the date, 9th Feb 1935.

2. Oeuvres Philosophiques Latines & Francaises de feu by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz - $6,496
Published in 1765, this first edition is a collection of Leibnitz’s philosophical works in French and Latin, and contains the first printing of one of Leibnitz’s most important philosophical works, his “Nouveaux essays sur l’entendement humain” (New Essays on Human Understanding), in which he attacks and refutes Locke and his “Essay on Human Understanding.”

3. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - $6,000
A first edition, first printing, of this classic novella published in 1952 and signed by Hemingway.

4. The Novels and Tales of Henry James by Henry James - $5,999
A first edition set of 26 volumes published 1917.

5. A Corpus of Rembrandt paintings. Translated by D.Co - $5,404
Published in 1982 in three volumes

6. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling - $5,213
First printing first issue of the deluxe edition signed by the author

7. The Novels and The Letters by Jane Austen - $4,862
Published in 1923, based on collation of the early editions by R.W. Chapman. Large paper edition limited to 1000 copies.

8. Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson - $4,500
First American edition of Jefferson’s only book, with folding table of Indian Tribes. Published in 1788.

9. Sein und Zeit (Being And Time) by Martin Heidegger - $4450
This is the special printing of the first appearance of the work generally considered to be one of the most important philosophical works of the 20th century and is the best known work by the German philosopher, published 1927

10. Opticks: or, a Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflection and Colours of Light by Sir Isaac Newton - $3929
Published in 1730, this fourth edition was published posthumously and is the last edition to be revised by the author. The book contains information about the study of physical optics.

A first-hand account of the Charge of the Light Brigade, by a trooper who lost an eye and part of his skull in the famous engagement, is to be sold, 120 years after the soldier wrote it to escape from begging on the streets. Trooper James Olley was wounded five times in the attack on Russian artillery at the battle of Balaclava by British forces on October 25 1854, and fell on hard times after discharge, having no pension or reward for his bravery. The Guardian reports.

I’m thrilled to reveal author and all-round ‘Book Guy’ Nicholas Basbanes is coming to Victoria - AbeBooks.com’s hometown - on October 31 to deliver two free lectures. Nicholas is a huge supporter of AbeBooks and appears each week on NPR’s The Book Guys show where he discusses his passion - books.

Nicholas is famous for writing books abut books - A Gentle Madness, published in 1995, won the author a huge following among bibliophiles. He’s continued to write extensively about all aspects of being a bibliophile since then. AbeBooks.com is a sponsor of The Books Guys show so Nicholas’ work has always been close to our hearts. In 2006, we interviewed Nicholas and his answers reveal what makes him tick.

His trip to this corner of Canada has been arranged by the Alcuin Society – a wonderful bibliophilic organization that supports and promotes fine books – and AbeBooks.com is supporting the Victoria leg of his mini-tour.

Free public lecture 1 – University of Victoria – October 31 at 12 noon until 1pm in the McPherson Library, Room 210 (2nd floor) in the Mearns Centre for Learning, University of Victoria (Pay parking is available on campus).

Nicholas will speak about his experiences as a writer of books about books in a presentation entitled ‘Thirty Years on the Book Beat.’ He will be happy to sign copies of his books after the presentation. This event is staged in association with the Friends of the University of Victoria Libraries.

Free public lecture 2 - Victoria Conservatory of Music - October 31 at 7:30pm until 8:30pm - Alix Goolden Performance Hall, 907 Pandora Avenue, Victoria (Downtown Victoria offers ample pay parking)

At this event, Nicholas will speak about the lasting value and importance of the printed book in a presentation entitled ‘Stirring the World: The Enduring Power of the Printed Word.’ Again, he will sign copies. This event is presented in association with AbeBooks.com.

Both events are free - what much better can it get? More details here.

Our friends at Bookride - a most excellent blog - have some interesting tales from the secondhand booktrade.

I love this comment…..

A bishop meets Wales’ oldest book. (A fine example of local journalism - a story out of nothing) Drych Cristianogawl, which translates as Christian Mirror, is housed in The National Library of Wales.

The book was on display at Blessed William Davies School as namesake William Davies was one of a group involved in printing the book. Davies, and eight others, spent more than six months hiding in a cave on the slopes of Llandudno’s Little Orme producing the Catholic book in 1586-87, an act then punishable by death.

Prohibited by law to publish Catholic books in England and Wales in the 16th century, many religious texts were either published abroad or on secret printing presses. The first part of Drych Cristianogawl was completed in February, 1587 but local residents discovered the cave was harbouring Catholics. A siege was laid but somehow the entire group managed to escape. William Davies was later executed.

We have a copy for sale.

It’s amazing what you can find in New Hampshire these days. I often find treasures for sale on AbeBooks but this one really is a treasure. The Antiquarian Bookstore in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is offering this nameless book from 605-562 B.C. I say ‘book’, but it’s actually a large clay cyclinder belonging to Nebuchadnezzar II, the one-time King of Babylon. It’s his Royal Proclamation about the re-building of the Temple E-barra/E-ulla at Sippar in Babylonia. (I’d never heard of it either, but it sounds grand.)

Apart from having perhaps the best name in history, Nebuchadnezzar II loved building things. The Tower of Babel, The Stepped Pyramid (Ziggurat) and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are all on his resume. The Hanging Gardens are considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World.

The asking price is $1,750,000.

I wonder how this object found its way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

If you happen to be in the Pacific Northwest this weekend, or if you happen to live here, you can visit the Seattle Antiquarian Bookfair. All the details on how to get there can be found here, but here are the basics you need to know.

The 21st annual fair runs from:
Saturday October 11th - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday October 12th - 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall
(on Mercer St just east of 3rd Ave N)
Seattle, Washington USA

TICKETS: $5.00 at the door (good for both days) - under 12 admitted free.

It’s a good event with over 100 book dealers and art exhibitors, and even if you’re not planning on buying it is well worth the $5 to get a chance to see some of the amazingly beautiful books they have on hand.

Putting together this list of the most expensive sales is always one of the most interesting jobs I have. Each month there are always a few of the “usual suspects,” your Orwells, Steinbecks, and other behemoths of fiction but then there are all of the truly ancient and unique like this month’s number one, a book on horse breeding in 19th century France.

Then every once in a while I see a highly specialized scientific reference book, like this months number seven which is a reference book from 2007 about Nanotechnology. Seeing the array of what people are buying always makes me appreciate just how great the internet is for people who have very specific reading demands.

The Top 10 most expensive books sold on AbeBooks in September 2008

1. Administration des Haras. Atlas statistique de la production des chevaux en France; documents pour servir á l’histoire naturelle-agricole des Races chevalines du Pays by Eugène Gayot - $7000 on AbeBooks.fr
This important and beautiful work pictures, chronicles and numbers the various breeds of horse that existed in France in 1850. Includes 27 hand-colored engraved maps.

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling - $6958 on AbeBooks.com
First deluxe edition that was signed by Rowling at the Edinburgh Book Festival in August of 2004.

3. Tibullus cum commentariis Cyllænii Veronensis by Tibullus, Catullus and Propertius - $ 6527 on AbeBooks.co.uk
Published in 1500 this tome includes the collected works of three of the most fascinating Latin love poets.

4. The Catalogue of the George Eumorfopoulos Collection by R.L. Hobson, Laurence Binyon and W. Perceval Yettes - $6555 on AbeBooks.com
An 11 volume set of limited edition and numbered books about Asian Pottery, Porcelain, frescoes, Paintings, and sculpture.

5. Lo Purgatorio di Dante Alighieri Fiorentino by Dante - $5000 on AbeBooks.de
Published in 1904 and limited to 1 of 150 copies by Nella Stamperia di Ashendene. Illuminated in gold and initial letters, and chapter marks added by calligrapher Graily Hewitt and Woodcut illustrations by Charles Keates & W.H. Hooper.

6. Kéraban-le-Têtu by Jules Verne - $5000 on AbeBooks.com
First illustrated edition published in 1883, inscribed by Verne and dated 1887.

7. Handbook of Theoretical and Computational Nanotechnology by Michael Rieth - $4780 on AbeBooks.com
Ten volumes of the most up to date information about Nanoscience. Published 2006

8. Voyage d’Italie, de Dalmatie, de Grèce, et du Levant, fait en 1675 & 1676 by Jacob Spon and George Wheler - $4206 on AbeBooks.com
Published in 1678 over three volumes this is one of the first systematic and detailed descriptions of Greece and Asia Minor

9. Songs of Central Australia by T.G.H. Strehlow - $4000 on AbeBooks.de
First edition copy published in 1971. One of only 1000 copies published.

10. Bible Verve with illustrations by Mark Chagall - $3916 on AbeBooks.de
Vol VIII. No. 33&34. Scarce copy of Chagall’s illustrations for the Bible. Includes 16 color lithographs.

Imagine having a library like this one?