Title page of Shakespeare's First Folio, 1623, with Martin Droeshout's engraved portrait — CC0 image via Wikimedia Commons. Creator: Creator:Droeshout. All image credits.

Rare books guide

The most valuable books in the world

The most valuable books in the world are handwritten treasures and the first great printed books. Below are real auction records, with the year and price at the time of sale. We list only sales we could check against published records; prices are not adjusted for inflation.

Record prices paid for books and manuscripts

The US dollar amounts for the Audubon and Alice sales follow the figures in Wikipedia’s list of the most expensive books and manuscripts. Prices usually include the buyer’s premium.

Book	What it is	Sold	Price at sale
Codex Sassoon	Almost complete Hebrew Bible, late 9th century	Sotheby’s, New York, May 2023	$38.1 million
Codex Leicester	Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook of scientific writings, in his own hand	Christie’s, New York, 11 November 1994 (bought by Bill Gates)	$30.8 million
Bay Psalm Book	First book printed in what is now the United States, 1640	Sotheby’s, November 2013	$14.2 million
Gospels of Henry the Lion	Illuminated gospel book, about 1175 to 1188	Sotheby’s, London, 6 December 1983	£8.14 million
The Birds of America	John James Audubon’s giant bird plates, 1827 to 1838	Sotheby’s, London, December 2010	about $11.6 million
Shakespeare’s First Folio	First collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, 1623	Christie’s, New York, October 2020	about $10 million
The Canterbury Tales	Chaucer, first edition printed by William Caxton, 1477	Christie’s, July 1998	£4.6 million
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland	1865 first edition, Lewis Carroll’s own copy	Christie’s, December 1998	about $1.5 million
Frankenstein	1818 first edition, one of 500 copies printed	Christie’s, September 2021	about $1.2 million

Why these books cost so much

Rarity: only 11 copies of the 1640 Bay Psalm Book are known to survive, and only about 119 complete copies of The Birds of America.
History: the first book printed in a country, the first collected Shakespeare, the notebook of a genius.
Condition and completeness: a complete copy is worth far more than one missing leaves or plates.
Provenance: a famous earlier owner, such as the author, adds to the story and the price.
Demand: wealthy collectors, museums and libraries compete for the same few copies.

Title page of the Bay Psalm Book, printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1640 — Public Domain image via Wikimedia Commons. Creator: Stephen Day (dated 1640). All image credits.

Famous novels at auction

Classic novels rarely reach these heights, but early copies of famous ones can sell for large sums. A first edition of Frankenstein sold at Christie’s in 2021 for about $1.2 million. Lewis Carroll’s own copy of the first edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland sold for about $1.5 million in 1998. Only 22 copies of the withdrawn 1865 first printing of Alice are known today.

Audubon's Bird of Washington, a plate from The Birds of America — Public Domain image via Wikimedia Commons. Creator: John James Audubon. All image credits.

A page of Genesis from a Gutenberg Bible, printed in Mainz in the 1450s — Public Domain image via Wikimedia Commons. Creator: Original by Johannes Gutenberg (printer), Scan by Jossi. All image credits.

Could a valuable book be on your shelf?

Treasures like these live in museums and private collections. But early printings of famous books, signed copies and books with their original dust jackets can still turn up in homes and estate sales. Start with our guide to how much your old book is worth, or try the free is my old book valuable? checklist.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the most expensive book ever sold?

Among books and book-like manuscripts, the Codex Sassoon, a Hebrew Bible from the late 9th century, sold for $38.1 million at Sotheby’s in May 2023.

What is the most expensive printed book ever sold?

The Bay Psalm Book, printed in 1640, sold for $14.2 million at Sotheby’s in November 2013, a record for a printed book at the time.

Who bought the Codex Leicester?

Bill Gates bought Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester at Christie’s in New York on 11 November 1994 for about $30.8 million.

How many Shakespeare First Folios exist?

The First Folio was printed in 1623, and a copy sold at Christie’s in New York in October 2020 for about $10 million. About 750 copies are thought to have been printed, and 235 are known to survive.

Related guides

How much is my old book worth?What is my old book worth?
How to tell if a book is a first editionIs it a first edition?
Where to sell old and rare booksWhere to sell old books
Frankenstein in shortMary Shelley, 1818
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in shortLewis Carroll, 1865
Rare books hubAll rare and old book guides

Sources

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Published 2026-10-27. Last checked 2026-10-27.