rare books

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Handwritten Sherlock Holmes Draft Could Fetch $1.2M

The manuscript of the second Holmes novel will come with author Conan Doyle's edits

(Newser) - A rare, handwritten manuscript of the Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of the Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is up for sale this June at Sotheby's , and it's expected to fetch up to $1.2 million, breaking past sales records of his works. It's the only...

50-Cent Harry Potter Proof Just Sold for $14K

Owner had bought first printing from a secondhand bookstore in 1997

(Newser) - The woman hardly knew what she'd bought in paying 40 pence, or about 50 cents, for three books back in 1997. Then 26, the woman "didn't have much money" but liked to browse secondhand bookshops for deals, she tells Hansons Auctioneers . She'd been looking for novels...

'Impossibly Rare' Books Are Now on the Auction Block

First editions from Walt Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe, and more currently on offer at Christie's New York

(Newser) - Calling all book lovers: Christie's New York is teasing the sale of "the best collection of early American literature to come to market in a generation," per the Wall Street Journal . On offer is the nation's first spy novel, as well as its first bestseller written...

Investment Book Fizzled in '91. Today, It's a Cult Classic

Copies of hedge fund manager Seth Klarman's 'Margin of Safety' sell for thousands

(Newser) - The relatively few people who shelled out $25 for a copy of Seth Klarman's investment book Margin of Safety in 1991 were actually making a wise investment at the time—they just didn't know it. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the book flopped, with only 5,000...

'Most Elusive Prize in 20th-Century Literature' to Be Sold

JD Salinger signed copy of 'The Catcher in the Rye' with his childhood nickname

(Newser) - Pom Harrington, owner of Peter Harrington Books, calls it the "perhaps the most elusive prize in 20th-century literature"—the only known copy of The Catcher in the Rye that JD Salinger signed with his childhood nickname, Sonny. The London bookseller is asking £225,000—$263,000—for...

Got $250K? A Rare Harry Potter Book Beckons

Christie's is selling first edition of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' in London

(Newser) - A rare first edition of the very first book in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series is about to go on the auction block. Reuters reports that Christie's of London will be holding a private sale this month for the copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,...

Cops: FSU Library Security Chief Stole $500K in Comics

Todd Peak is accused of lifting rare titles from Strozier Library throughout the pandemic

(Newser) - As head of security of Florida State University's Strozier Library, Todd Peak held one of four keys to access a $500,000 collection of prized science fiction, fantasy, horror, and comic book titles. He also apparently held little appreciation for his job, even after being deemed an essential worker...

Relieved Owners Get Back Rare, Irreplaceable Books Stolen in 2017

Nearly all volumes intact after daring warehouse theft

(Newser) - In the sort of break-in usually executed by a Tom Cruise character while background music adds to the tension, rare books worth millions were stolen from a London warehouse nearly four years ago. On Tuesday, police announced that the books have been returned to the proper owners, leading one of...

Missing for 30-Plus Years, $1.3M Columbus Letter Found

Copy of note sent to Spain's King Ferdinand was stolen from Italy in the '80s

(Newser) - In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue; in 1493, he wrote a letter about his trip across the sea to Spain's King Ferdinand, and two editions of it were printed to spread across Europe. Only about 30 copies of the first edition of the Plannck I letter still exist,...

Bronte Society Reclaims an 'Absolute Highlight'

'Jane Eyre' author Charlotte Bronte's 1830 'little book' scooped up by Parsonage Museum in auction

(Newser) - The Bronte Parsonage Museum has in its possession four surviving "little books" written in 1830 by Jane Eyre author Charlotte Bronte, and it just got its hands on a fifth. The BBC reports that for about $860,000, which included fees, the Haworth museum run by the Bronte Society...

Library's Rare Books Manager Charged in $8M Heist

Stolen items were allegedly transferred to a local book shop owner, sold

(Newser) - When appraisers discovered $8 million in rare books missing from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, investigators knew where to turn. As archivist and manager of the William R. Oliver Special Collections Room for 25 years, Gregory Priore let visitors in—and, allegedly, let some 320 items out. According to police,...

Harry Goes Old School for Louis' $10K Christening Gift

A first-run 1926 'Winnie-the-Pooh,' which cost the older prince about $10,500

(Newser) - He may not be a godparent , but Prince Harry still hooked his new nephew up with what Town & Country calls "the sweetest christening gift." The Sun reports Harry presented little Prince Louis with a first-edition 1926 Winnie-the-Pooh book, a gift that's said to have set him...

Original Stephen King Manuscripts, Rare Books Lost in 'Devastating Blow'

Gerald Winters says 90% of inventory destroyed at rare-books store after water main burst in Bangor

(Newser) - When Gerald Winters recently decided to reorganize his rare-books store in Bangor, Maine, housing a collection mainly dedicated to Stephen King, he stashed most of his inventory in the basement. He's now suffered what the Bangor Daily News describes as a "devastating blow" to his business: A water...

Gang Steals $3M in Books in Hollywood-Esque Heist

They cut through skylights, rappelled down

(Newser) - It was a heist worthy of Hollywood: Thieves targeted a London warehouse temporarily holding some of the world's rarest books, cut through its skylights, rappelled down, and made off with more than $3 million in bounty, reports the Telegraph . In total, the trio nabbed more than 160 books, and...

One-of-a-Kind Tolkien Map of Middle-Earth Unearthed

$92K map, full of author's notes, has been found in illustrator's collection

(Newser) - A one-of-a-kind map of Middle-earth filled with JRR Tolkien's own green ink and penciled notes has been found in renowned illustrator Pauline Baynes' copy of The Lord of the Rings. Baynes appears to have removed the map from an earlier edition as she began to work on a color...

First American Book Now World's Most Expensive

Bay Psalm Book sold for record $14M

(Newser) - The first book ever printed in what became the USA is now the world's most expensive printed book. One of 11 surviving copies of the Bay Psalm Book has sold at auction for just over $14 million—below Sotheby's pre-sale estimate $15 million to $30 million but still...

Uber-Rare Books Pilfered by Librarian Head Home

National librarian spent years secretly grabbing 56 tomes

(Newser) - After a librarian quietly stole rare books from Sweden's National Library, two of them turned up at a bookstore in Baltimore; now, Sweden is finally getting them back. But the Kungliga Biblioteket has a long way to go: Senior librarian Anders Burius spent a decade stealing 56 "rare...

F. Scott Fitzgerald's Handwritten Ledger Goes Online

'Gatsby' author apparently couldn't spell very well

(Newser) - F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby again hits the silver screen in a couple of weeks, and a rare look at some of the author's more mundane writings is getting aired. Fitzgerald's own financial ledger, a detailed handwritten account of his earnings for his various books and...

This Book Could Be the Most Expensive Ever Sold

Among printed books, that is

(Newser) - If the auctioneers selling it off are to be believed, an almost pocket-sized book of Bible verses is set to sell for as much as $30 million. That's because it's not any old book—it's one of 11 remaining copies of the Bay Psalm Book, which is...

George Washington's Book Sells for $10M

223-year-old volume includes Bill of Rights and Constitution

(Newser) - A 223-year-old book once owned by George Washington has raked in nearly $10 million at auction. The 106-page leather-bound edition of The Acts of Congress was printed for the first president in 1789 and includes a copy of the Constitution and a draft of the Bill of Rights. Washington's...

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