AbeBooks' most expensive sales of all time

Translates as a 'Natural History of Birds Treated Systematically and Adorned with Copperplate Engraving Illustrations, in Miniature and Life-Size.' Five volumes containing more than 600 hand-colored engraved plates of birds. Published in 1765.

The book's artwork was drawn and etched by Violante Vanni and Lorenzo Lorenzi, while the text was penned by Saverio Manetti - an Italian physician, ornithologist, and director of the botanical garden in Florence from 1749 to 1782.

The artwork was created using dead specimens from an Italian nobleman's ornithology collection as models, and the birds are displayed in rather dramatic, eye-catching poses. Some consider the book to be a commentary on 18th century Italian high society because the bird poses are almost human.

Thomas Pynchon is one of America's most reclusive novelists and the author of V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's Rainbow, Slow Learner, Vineland, Mason and Dixon, Inherent Vice, and Bleeding Edge.

This is a collection of 246 items comes from a fine private library.

Highlights include: an advance reading copy of V. (1963), Pynchon’s first novel, in its original wrapper, as well as a first edition copy of V. in a dust jacket, advance unbound signatures and an uncorrected proof of Gravity's Rainbow (1973), the binder's dummy of Mason & Dixon (1997) in a proof dust jacket, and more.

A true first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone published by Bloomsbury in June 1997. Only 500 copies were printed, with 200 being used for promotional purposes and 300 copies provided to libraries. This copy was originally owned by Edinburgh Public Library. Edinburgh is Rowling’s hometown. She wrote this novel while sitting in various cafes around the Scottish city.

The book’s library card shows it was borrowed 27 times between 15 December 1997 until 12 October 1999 before being withdrawn from service. Those 27 readers were among the first people to experience the magic of Hogwarts.

A 1638 first edition of Galileo's last work, the "Discorsi" (Discourses on Two New Sciences), which is considered to be the foundation of modern mechanics. The two new sciences that the book describes are the engineering science of strength of materials and the mathematical science of kinematics - the physics of bodies in motion subject to the force of gravity. One of the great science books ever produced, this copy is bound in contemporary vellum.

Famously dubbed 'mad, bad and dangerous to know,' George Gordon Byron, sixth Baron Byron was a prominent English Romantic poet of the early 19th century. Lord Byron is known for his vivid depictions of nature and dark, brooding tone. This remarkable collection includes first editions of Byron's works such as Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.

This may be the most important collection of poetry in American Literature.

Although Leaves of Grass was first greeted with derision and even shock - Boston's district attorney attempted to have some of the poems suppressed as obscene and Whitman was fired from his job - it eventually claimed its rightful place in the American canon.

Whitman himself helped to pay for the printing of the first edition, published in 1855. That initial run produced only 800 copies, most of which were unbound.

Published in September 1937, this first edition, first printing is in its original dust jacket. Only 1,500 copies of the first edition were printed, and they were sold out by mid-December of 1937.

While The Hobbit gained enough popularity to prompt the publishing of Lord of the Rings, it did not achieve its full audience until the 1960s when publishers printed a huge reissue of affordable Hobbit copies in the US. The timing of the release was perfect as it coincided with a cultural revolution that embraced many of the social themes in the works.

Another factor in the success of the novel was adult acceptance of fantasy, where as previously the genre had been mostly regarded as children’s entertainment. This new found mass appeal began to drive the collectors market for early editions.

Published in 1644, this pamphlet by the author of the epic poem Paradise Lost defended the freedom of the Press as the British government suppressed their opponents' publications.

First published in 1776, this Second Edition of The Wealth of Nations was published by W. Strahan & T. Cadell in 1778 and is scarcer than its predecessor with only 500 copies printed.

It is the only other edition published in quarto format.

Adam Smith (1723-1790) spent ten years writing and perfecting this foundational work.

The book succeeded at once, and the first edition was exhausted in six months.

Bound in 13 volumes and published between 1774 and 1804, this work deals with entomology, palaeozoology, mineralogy and geology, zoology and botany. Contains 143 folded engravings.

More became a Catholic martyr when Henry VIII beheaded him. This 1518 fourth edition outlines his ideal state, and pleads for religious tolerance and universal education.

Little written by Donne appeared in print in his lifetime but hundreds of manuscript copies were circulated by hand. This 1633 first edition was the first collection of his poems.

Donne (1572-1631) was a poet and scholar born into a Catholic family, who later became a cleric in the Church of England. He is famous for his metaphysical poetry, including sonnets, love poems, elegies and songs.

After converting to the Anglian Church, he became noted for his sermons and religious poems.

A Member of Parliament and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, his poetry was not appreciated until after his death.

A first edition from 1570 of this influential book about architecture. Andrea di Pietro was nicknamed Palladio and worked in the Venice region of Italy where his buildings are famous for their classical style. This volume is divided into four sections - basic architectural tasks such as walls and rooms, private houses, public buildings such as bridges and squares and, town planning and temples. Palladio’s style became known as Palladianism, and it was copied across Europe until the 18^th century.

This 1818 first edition is described as "the most beautiful illustrated English book on Portugal of the period." Landmann fought in the Peninsular War, and his book details sieges and battles.

First edition in three volumes, published in 1867, 1885 and 1894 - one of the most influential economic and political works of the 19th and 20th centuries.

A rare first edition set of the official accounts of Captain James Cook's three voyages published in nine volumes in 1773, 1777 and 1784 respectively. These books were 18^th century bestsellers with readers eager to learn about the other side of the world.

Cook’s first voyage is covered by three volumes and describes his journey to the Southern Hemisphere. His second voyage, towards the South Pole, is described in two volumes. His third voyage, to the Pacific Ocean including the western coastline of America and Canada, is detailed in four volumes. These books gave Europeans a greater awareness of world geography, while his maps and charting of coastlines laid the foundation for modern maritime routes.

A screenprint of Mickey Mouse, reimagined by British artist Damian Hirst. This artwork was first created in 2012 as an oil painting to be auctioned in aid of a charity. Signed in pencil by the artist.

Hirst dominated the UK art scene during the 1990s. He became infamous for a series of artworks featuring dead animals such as a shark, a sheep and a cow. This abstract version of Disney's Mickey Mouse is one of Hirst's lighter works.

Hirst's 1997 autobiography is called I Want To Spend the Rest of My Life Everywhere, with Everyone, One to One, Always, Forever, Now. It's also an art book and includes pieces of artwork set against a visual narrative of drawings, words, photography, typography, pop-ups and other effects.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of a decadent young man who trades his soul for eternal youth and beauty. It was first published in Lippincott's monthly magazine in 1890 before being expanded and published into book form in 1891.

The story was heavily edited at various stages in its publication to remove queer content which offended contemporary British sensibilities (and the law). The book was bowdlerized and used against Wilde at his trials, eventually resulting in a prison sentence for gross indecency.

This large paper 'edition de luxe' was published in July of 1891, three months after the first trade edition.

A rare piece of astronomical history from 1603 - a first edition of the most famous celestial atlas of all with 48 lavishly illustrated tables portraying the constellations identified by the Greeks and a 49th table showing 12 newly discovered constellations. The book has the coat of arms of a Venetian family on both covers and a monastery stamp on its title page.

Signed first edition of the 1953 Jonathan Cape publication of Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel; this copy has also been inscribed by Fleming "To/ _____ _____/Something for the/flight/from the author".

Published by John Lane The Bodley Head in 1936, this is a first edition bound in vellum. A fine copy with a near fine original slipcase. #69 of 100 numbered copies signed by Joyce, from of a total edition of one thousand. The Bodley Head's promotional announcement is laid in. It reads: "Final and definitive edition, James Joyce's Ulysses, together with much new appendix material containing documents relevant to the legal history of the book & an up-to-date bibliography of Mr. Joyce's works." Ulysses was first published in book form in 1922 by Sylvia Beach, famous for her Paris bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. Ulysses chronicles a day in the life of Leopold Bloom.

Complete first edition sets of Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons sailing adventures novels are rare.

The first book was published in an edition of only 2,000 copies, compared to the print run for the first issue of the last book, which numbered around 11,000 copies).

This set features original green cloth, lettering to spines in gilt, illustrated endpapers, and attractive jackets.

This is an important work on Hadith methodology (narrations concerning the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) that was originally written in the 10th century AD. This copy was published in the 12^th or 13th century and contained an ownership mark on the title page from a scholar called Ibrahim B. Sulleymanb Muhammad B. Abd Ul Aziz Al Hanafi Al Jinini, who bought it while in Damascus in 1659.

This translates as Masters of the Poster, which was a monthly illustrated French publication published between December 1895 and November 1900.

The magazine, produced under the leadership of Jules Cheret, contained reproductions of the best Art Nouveau posters of the era from both French and international artists. This is a five-volume collection featuring 256 posters from 97 artists.

More than 100 artists were featured including Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, William Nicholson, Edward Penfield, Albert Guillaume and Maxfield Parrish. The posters promote a wide variety of themes from Harper’s Magazine to events, products, travel and tourism. Art Nouveau spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it was widely used in advertising. The ornate and elegant style celebrated craftsmanship and beauty.

Innocent Victorious was written by a group of Jesuit missionaries based in China. Printed in Canton in 1671, this book contains Chinese and Latin text detailing Chinese imperial decrees in favor of Christians in China. It confirmed China's tolerance toward Christians after a period of persecution between 1664 and 1666 when missionaries were jailed. It features a Chinese woodblock printing with a frontispiece showing the emblem of the Jesuit Order. The Jesuits produced the book using Chinese printing technology, much to the surprise of their colleagues in Rome.

This remarkable set is made up of the first editions of each book in the author's classic Chronicles of Narnia series, which has sold over 100 million copies and been translated into 47 languages.

Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day.

A 1940 first edition, signed by the author, published by Duell, Sloan & Pearce. Livermore was one of the great stock traders, worth millions at his peak in the 1920s. He traded with his own money. How to Trade in Stocks revealed his formula for monitoring trends, which is still used today. Edwin Lefèvre wrote a book about Livermore in 1923, called Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, which provides further insight into this remarkable man.

This complete set of The New Review consists of every monthly issue published between June 1889 and December 1897, when the magazine ceased publication.

The complete run of this influential avant-garde magazine features the first published appearances of many important literary works, most notably H.G. Wells' The Time Machine.

The magazine was unique appealing to both conservative Members of Parliament and literary intellectuals, and championed 'uncommercial' writers.

Published in 1905, this is the Presidential Edition, limited to 50 copies. There are 12 volumes, bound in 23. It features engraved portraits, views and maps, photogravures, and facsimile letters. The frontispiece in each volume is an original watercolor of a log cabin.

A second copy of Marx’s world-changing book. Published in 1867 by Otto Meissner with German text, this edition of Das Kapital was the only one published in Marx's lifetime (he died in 1883). The book is housed in a slipcover with cloth wrapping.

Published by Bloomsbury, all seven volumes in deluxe bindings. All signed by J.K. Rowling. The Chamber of Secrets, and The Prisoner of Azkaban are signed by artist Cliff Wright.

This book was published in 1868 and copies are hard to find. It contains 31 illustrations by Mathews (1831-1874), who was well known for his drawings of Colorado, Montana and the Rocky Mountains.

An unread first edition, first printing from the 500 original copies published before anyone knew JK Rowling’s name.

A 1972 facsimile of this historic book published by the Johnson Reprint Corporation in four double elephant folio volumes. Audubon originally published the book as a series between 1827 and 1838. It contains 435 life-size illustrations of birds – a handful of which are now extinct. This copy is number 150 of the 250 copies printed. A first edition sold at auction for $8.8 million in 2000 – a record for any book.

Only 22 copies of the true first edition are in existence after Lewis Carroll withdrew the entire print run of 2,000 copies. One such copy came up for auction earlier in 2016 and was expected to sell for between $2 million and $3 million, but it failed to meet its reserve and didn't sell. This copy was one of the first thousand copies printed for the American market. The publisher is Appleton of New York and the publication date is 1866.

The Song of Songs, also known as the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is an erotic poem. This is a 1931 edition in French produced by the Cranach Press with beautiful wood engravings by Eric Gill, the British artist known for his typefaces and printmaking. Only eight copies were produced in French and they are printed on vellum. The Cranach Press was dedicated to printing fine editions of famous literature. The Song of Songs appears in the Hebrew Bible (the Tanakh) and is read on the Sabbath during Passover.

A complete set of 243 issues of this influential French art magazine edited by Aimé Maeght, which was published between 1946 and 1982. These issues feature numerous original lithographs and reproductions from artists like Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Francis Bacon, Georges Braque, and Saul Steinberg. One issue is signed by Miró.

This is a copy of the first U.S. edition of one of the most influential works of twentieth century poetry published in 1922.

T. S. Eliot was awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize in Literature for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry.

The book is bound in the publisher's black cloth. It is in great shape with minor wear to the boards. The binding is tight with no cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp. The pages are clean with no writing, marks or bookplates in the book.

A rarity, this large color proof of the final Calvin and Hobbes strip is signed by Bill Watterson.

Calvin and Hobbes was a daily comic strip that ran between 1985 and 1995. It became hugely successful and was featured in thousands of newspapers around the globe.

This signed color proof was one of a small number produced and sent as a thank-you gift from Watterson to select newspapers who carried the strip.

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) was a German author of fantasy and Gothic horror stories, and a key figure in the Romantic movement. His stories inspired the opera The Tales of Hoffmann.

He also wrote the novella The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, which inspired Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. This letter was written on July 21, 1816 in Berlin and sent to his publisher Georg Reimer. Hoffmann apologizes for the delay in sending his story Das Sanktus due to other time-consuming work. Sound familiar?

Hoffmann’s taste for the macabre in his fantasy writing influenced authors such as Edgar Allan Poe and Franz Kafka.

This is a famous philosophy book first published in 1637 but this copy is special due to its artwork produced by Victor Vasarely (1906-1997), a French-Hungarian artist described as the father of the Op Art movement. He used geometric shapes and colorful graphics to create illusions of spatial depth. He was heavily influenced by Bauhaus design, the works of Vasily Kandinskii, and Constructivism. Vasarely experimented with surrealist and abstract expressionist styles during the 1940s before arriving at his hallmark checkerboards. One of only 15 copies reserved for Vasarely, which he signed.

The deluxe French edition of After 50 Years of Surrealism. Scarce. Published in 1974 by Transworld, Fribourg, this portfolio contains 12 color etchings by Salvador Dali. Each one is signed and numbered.

Published by Henry Holt, this is the 1895 first edition of The Time Machine with the author's name misspelled as H.S. Wells on the title page. This copy is signed by Wells just below the names of the previous owners. The Time Machine was the author's first novel and has become a cornerstone of science fiction with its time traveling theme.

A first edition, published 1915 by Kurt Wolff. This famous novella contains 73 pages plus five additional pages of advertisements. The story sees a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, wake one morning to find he has been changed into a giant insect.

The work was completed by Kafka in 1912 and published in November 1915. Die Verwandlung first appeared in German in the Berlin journal, Die Weissen Blatter, and a second edition was published by Wolff in 1918.

This German edition is quite scarce according to Joachim Unseld in Kafka: A Writer’s Life, it is estimated that no more than a thousand copies were originally published, all of which sold quickly. It should also be noted that an English language edition didn't appear until 1937.

Born in Prague to German-speaking Jewish parents, Kafka died in 1924 and most of his work was published posthumously.