Price tag associated with rare books available for your purchase is relatively high. However, you will notice that the value of the most popular rare books is extremely high. You will have to spend a fortune to get your hands on some of those books. Here is a list of few such rare books and their values. When you go through this list, you will be able to get a better overall understanding about the value of rare books.
First Folio by William Shakespeare
First Folio by William Shakespeare is worth around $6 million. The very first title of this book was “Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies”. This book offers a collection of 23 different plays that were compiled by William Shakespeare. They include Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing and The Tempest. The book was initially published in the year 1623. In fact, it took place 7 years after the death of the playwright. If this book was not published, all the great work done by William Shakespeare will be lost and we will not be able to see them in today’s world. That’s why this book is so important. Back in the year 2006, the book was sold at an auction for a price of $5.2 million. The value of this book as of now is around $6 million.
In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway is another famous example for a rare book, which is worth around $0.3 million. In Our Time was published by a group of French publishers back in the year 1924. This book will provide you with the opportunity to get your hands on a short story collection, which was compiled by Ernest Hemingway. However, only 300 copies were published in the initial publication. Out of these 300 books, 130 books had printing mistakes. Hence, only 170 copies were sold. The other 130 copies were given to the family members and friends of Ernest Hemingway as review copies. Due to the limited number of books, they are quite popular in today’s world. That’s why these books are being sold at a high price tag.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling is popular book that was published in the recent past. This was the very first book of the Harry Potter series as well. This book was published back in the year 1997 by a British Publisher named Bloomsbury. At the time of publishing the book, they didn’t assume that the book will receive so much of attention from people in every corner of the world. Hence, only 500 copies of the book were published in the very first attempt. Out of these 500 copies, 300 went into the schools and libraries that are located throughout UK. These first edition books are extremely valuable. Therefore, you will be able to see how these books are being sold at auctions for prices varying in between $40,000 and $55,000.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The very first edition of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is another great example for a highly popular rare book. Only three different volumes of this book were published. They were sold at a price tag of 18-shilling s back in the day. Inside the three volumes, there were around 1,500 copies. These copies are currently priced at high price tags. That’s because the novel received a lot of positive attention from the people. During the 20th and 21st centuries, we could see how a large number of TV and film adaptations of the movie were done as well. They further contributed towards the popularity of the books. Back in the year 2010, a first edition book of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was sold at a price of around $180,000 in London.
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
Casino Royale by Ian Fleming can be considered as the very first book that you can find in the James Bond series. Due to the same reason, you can find how a massive demand is available for this book was well. The initial run of this book was extremely successful. That’s because more than 4,700 copies of the book were published. This took place back in the year 1953. The books published under the very first attempt was sold at a quick pace as well. In fact, all the books were sold within a period of few months. Along with that, the demand for James Bond adventures increased in United Kingdom and rest of the world as well. First edition books of Casino Royale by Ian Fleming are currently being sold at a price tag of around $130,000.
