Most Valuable Collectors Books
Although book collecting doesn’t have to be expensive, the most passionate collectors are willing to pay hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions on books. The majority of the most valuable books are owned by museums and libraries but some are also owned by private collectors including:
-
Codex Leicester. A collection of mainly scientific writings by Leonardo da Vinci was bought by Bill Gates in 1994 for over $30 million and is currently the most expensive book ever sold. However, the codex that was named after Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester who bought it in the early 18th century isn’t sitting in Bill Gates’ private collection but is displayed once a year in a different city. Gates also had it scanned and released in a CD-ROM version in 1997.
-
Magna Carta (the Great Charter). The document by which the King of England was forced to limit his powers was issued in several exemplifications (copies) since 1215. An exemplification from 1297 is the only copy that is privately owned. It was sold in 2007 to David Rubenstein, the co-founder of The Carlyle Group who paid over $21 million for it. He gave it on permanent loan to the National Archives and Records Administration.
-
St Cuthbert Gospel. Also known as the Stonyhurst Gospel, the 7th century pocket gospel book is the third most expensive book of all times. From the late 1970s to 2011, it was loaned to the British Library by the Jesuit order in Britain. In the same year, the British Library started a fund raising campaign to buy the gospel book for the previously agreed £9 million. The purchase was completed one year later.
-
Gospels of Henry the Lion. The 12th century gospel book that was owned by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony was sold for over £8 million in the 1980s to the German government. It is now housed in the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel but is publicly displayed every two years.
-
The Birds of America. As many as three of the surviving 119 copies of John James Audubon’s book are among the 10 most expensive collectors books. In 2000, one copy was bought by Sheikh Saud Al-Thani of Qatar for $8.8. Another copy was bought by London art dealer Michael Tollemache for over £7.3 (over $11 million) in 2010, while the third copy was bought by an unknown collector for nearly $8 million in 2012.