List of most expensive books and manuscripts

Notebook comprising a collection of scientific writings by Leonardo da Vinci, in his own hand.Previously owned by Giuseppe Ghezzi, Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester and Armand Hammer.

First printing. Previously owned by S. Howard Goldman.

Two letters, sold as a set from Yuan dynasty artist Zhao Mengfu to his friend

Printer's manuscript. Copy of original manuscript produced by Oliver Cowdery. Originally owned by David Whitmer.

Believed to be the only surviving original work by the Song dynasty scholar; written on the back of a sheet of paper used for woodblock printing. Previously owned by Xiang Yuanbian (1525–1590).

A copy of the Hebrew Bible that is contemporary to the Aleppo Codex, and is almost complete and a century older than the Leningrad Codex

Illuminated missal in use at Sherborne Abbey. Chiefly illuminated by John Siferwas.Previously owned by Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland.

Illuminated gospel book commissioned by Henry the Lion (1129/1131–1195) for use in Brunswick Cathedral.

1297 exemplification of the 1216 charter, held by the Brudenell family and later the Perot Foundation.

"Book of Tang in detailed sections with glosses by 'Stone Wall Studio'". Woodblock printed edition. Copy previously owned by Cao Kun (1862–1938).

Pocket gospel book that was buried with Saint Cuthbert (d. 687), removed from his coffin in 1104 and kept at Durham Cathedral.Subsequently owned by Thomas Allen and the English Jesuit College.

First book printed in what is now the United States.Originally owned by the Old South Church.

An illuminated book of hours once in the collections of Anselm Salomon von Rothschild (1803–1874) and his descendants.

54-page manuscript written jointly by Albert Einstein and Michele Besso. One of only two surviving manuscripts documenting the genesis of general relativity.

From the illustrated manuscript of Ferdowsi's epic poem presented by Tahmasp to Selim II. Illustration attributed to Aqa Mirak.Previously owned by Edmond de Rothschild and Arthur A. Houghton Jr.

One of 119 complete copies known to exist. Copy originally owned by Henry Witham (1779–1844).

Only surviving copy of the first map to use the name "America" and showing that the Americas were separated from Asia by the Pacific Ocean.

First Folio edition with autograph letter of authentication by Edmond Malone (1741–1812). Previously owned by Mills College.

George Washington's personal copy of a printed edition of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, with annotations in his own hand.

One of 119 complete copies known to exist. Copy originally owned by the 4th Duke of Portland (1768–1854).

One of 14 complete sets printed by Daniel Bomberg that are known to exist.Previously owned by Richard Bruerne, Westminster Abbey and the Valmadonna Trust Library.

Two volumes (comprising chapters 2268–2269 and 7391–7392) of the manuscript copy of the Yongle Encyclopedia produced between 1562 and 1567 for the Jiajing Emperor. The original copy produced between 1403 and 1408 is now lost, and only about 400 of the 11,095 volumes of the 16th-century copy now survive. These two previously unrecorded volumes in private ownership in France were bought.^[33]

Autograph manuscript, including pages that at the time had never been published.

Pierre de Coubertin's 14-page autograph manuscript for his 1892 speech outlining his vision for a modern revival of the ancient Olympic Games.

One of 119 complete copies known to exist. Copy originally owned by George Lane Fox (1793–1848) and subsequently by John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute

Manuscript of the Quran written on coloured Chinese (Ming dynasty) paper speckled with gold flecks; produced under the Aq Qoyunlu Confederation (1378–1501) or the Timurid Empire (1370–1507).

Illuminated Ashkenazi Jewish prayer book previously owned by Samuel David Luzzatto and the Alliance Israélite Universelle

Dunlap broadside #23.

First edition printed by William Caxton in 1477. Copy originally owned by John Radcliffe, then purchased by 4th Earl Fitzwilliam (1748–1833) in 1776 for £6.

Original manuscript. Previously owned by Charles de Noailles. Purchased by Gérard Lhéritier for the Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits. Later declared a French national treasure and removed from auction after Lhéritier's arrest for fraud.

One of 119 complete copies known to exist. Copy originally owned by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society until 1946, and in possession of the Deerfield Academy from 1973 to 1985.

From the illustrated manuscript of Ferdowsi's epic poem presented by Tahmasp to Selim II. Illustration attributed to Aqa Mirak.Previously owned by Edmond de Rothschild and Arthur A. Houghton Jr.

Illuminated chivalric romance on vellum originally owned by Louis de Gruuthuse and subsequently by Louis XII of France and William Cavendish

Third issue of the First Folio edition. Copy from the Library of Abel E. Berland; originally owned by Allen Puleston, then by the Dryden baronets of Canons Ashby.

Letter explaining "the secret of life" written more than a month before the public announcement of the discovery of DNA

First appearance of Superman

First issue of the first Superman comic book series, owned by Tony Arnold

Joe Shuster

Previously owned by the Dukes of Northumberland.Purchased by an anonymous buyer; resold in June 2007 for an unknown amount to the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Autograph manuscript by the composer. Given by Alma Mahler to Willem Mengelberg. Later owned by Gilbert Kaplan.

One of 119 complete copies known to exist. Copy owned by the Providence Athenaeum.

Copy owned by Empress Joséphine (1763–1814)

Copy owned by Carrie Estelle Doheny (1875–1958), then donated to St. John's Seminary in California.Purchased by Japanese booksellers Maruzen; resold to Keio University in 1996 for an undisclosed sum.

Third issue of the First Folio edition. Copy originally owned by William Bates (1625–1699), then acquired by Daniel Williams (c. 1643–1716) in 1699, and held at Dr Williams's Library in London from 1716 until the sale in 2006.

Royal Mamluk Quran written for Sultan Qaitbay (1418–1496). Later owned by Hagop Kevorkian (1872–1962).

An illuminated psalter made for Jean de Villiers, who was 22nd Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller from 1285 until 1293.

This copy painted between 1804 and 1809

An illuminated missal owned by Cardinal Marco Cornaro (1482–1524) and subsequently by Nathaniel Meyer von Rothschild (1836–1905)

Official William J. Stone copy of the Declaration of Independence presented in 1824 to signer Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Autograph manuscript by the composer of symphonies 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30.

Typewritten first draft of the rules by James Naismith.

Book of Hours painted by Simon Bening for Albrecht of Brandenburg

One of 119 complete copies known to exist. Copy originally owned by the University of Edinburgh.

One of seven copies handwritten and illustrated by J. K. Rowling.

Copy originally owned by Hieronymus Münzer (1437/47–1508).

Printed edition of Letter from Columbus describing his visit to the Americas

Editio princeps of the Pentateuch in Hebrew, with paraphrases in Aramaic, printed in Bologna.

One of 27 surviving copies of the Leland-Boker "Authorized Edition" printed by Frederick Leypoldt to benefit the Great Central Fair for the Sanitary Commission. Copy owned by Robert F. Kennedy

Three volume illuminated manuscript containing the Lancelot-Grail cycle. Originally owned by Guy VII de La Rochefoucauld. Subsequently owned by Thomas Phillipps and Joost Ritman.

Association copy of the first edition

Illuminated Book of hours on vellum. Previously owned by Bertram Ashburnham, 4th Earl of Ashburnham, Henry Yates Thompson, Charles Fairfax Murray, and Alfred Chester Beatty.

Vellum manuscript produced in England, comprising the Pentateuch, Haftarah and the Five Megillot. Previously part of the Valmadonna Trust Library.

One of 119 complete copies known to exist. Copy originally owned by York Subscription Library and subsequently by the Indiana Historical Society.

Copyist's manuscript with annotations by the composer.

Response from Lincoln to "Children's Petition to the President asking him to free all the little slave children in this country."

Autograph manuscript signed by Bach.Originally owned by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and subsequently by Breitkopf and Alfred Henry Huth

Letter from Washington to his nephew arguing in support of the adoption of the proposed U.S. Constitution

Illuminated gospel book, probably produced at the Benedictine abbey at Metz for a member of the Carolingian dynasty, perhaps Queen Theutberga.Previously owned by Guglielmo Libri and William Tite.

Autograph manuscript of Lincoln's final speech.Previously owned by Joan Whitney Payson.

Storyboard for an unproduced film based on the 1965 science fiction novel Dune by Frank Herbert

Illuminated breviary originally owned by William Monypenny.

Autograph Manuscript owned by Simone Collinet. Purchased by Gérard Lhéritier for the Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits. Later declared a French national treasure and removed from auction after Lhéritier's arrest for fraud.

Letter written by Einstein to his friend Eric Gutkind explaining his religious beliefs

Limited edition copy on Japan vellum signed by Curtis

An album amicorum (book of friendship) comprising paintings and drawing by many different artists, collected by Philipp Hainhofer between 1596 and 1633.

Third issue of the First Folio edition. Copy originally owned by Robert Edwards, then by George Shuckburgh-Evelyn (1751–1804).

Illuminated manuscript originally owned by Elizabeth de Bohun. Subsequently purchased for an unknown amount.

Illuminated by Simon Bening. Earliest dated work by Bening

Composite atlas comprising a mixture of manuscript and printed maps dating from the late 16th and early 17th centuries; commissioned by Giovanni Andrea Doria (1539–1606).

Deluxe coloured copy of the first edition.Originally owned by Giovanni Faber.

Presentation copy of the first edition given to James II by Newton

One of eight surviving copies of the original hand-printed, colour-illustrated book. Copy owned by John Hay Whitney (1904–1982).

Original scroll.

One of the earliest quranic manuscripts known

Copy signed by Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) and various members of Congress. One of 3 "Senate" copies of vellum.Previously owned by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Copy owned by the Pforzheimer Foundation.

First Edition of the first account of Copernicus's heliocentrism

Florentine illuminated manuscript on vellum

Third issue of the First Folio edition. Copy owned by Lord Hesketh (1916–1955).

Signed Yahya Bin Muhammad Inn 'Umar, Probably Mesopotamia.Previously owned by Archer Milton Huntington (1870–1955) and the Hispanic Society of America

Autograph manuscript by the composer.

First edition printed in Nuremberg by Johann Petreius in 1543. Copy originally owned by Nicolas-Joseph Foucault [fr] (1643–1721) and subsequently by Myron Prinzmetal (1908–1987).

Palimpsest manuscript of On the Equilibrium of Planes, On Floating Bodies, The Method of Mechanical Theorems, On Spiral Lines, On the Sphere and the Cylinder, On the Measurement of the Circle, and Stomachion.

Copy owned by the General Theological Seminary in New York.

One of 27 surviving copies of the Leland-Boker "Authorized Edition" printed by Frederick Leypoldt to benefit the Great Central Fair for the Sanitary Commission. Signed by Abraham Lincoln and William H. Seward

Illuminated book of hours on vellum. Originally made for Marie de Balsac

First map of the United States published in America. Previously owned by William L. Dayton and the New Jersey Historical Society.

Typed letter written by Leo Szilard and signed by Albert Einstein warning that Nazi Germany might develop nuclear weapons and suggesting the US should start its own nuclear program.

Broadside printed by John Rogers based on the Pennsylvania Evening Post

Handwritten working lyrics by Bob Dylan

Autograph manuscript by the composer

Book of hours originally owned by Galeazzo Maria Sforza, and subsequently by William Waldorf Astor

Almost complete manuscript on vellum, produced in North Africa or the Middle East.Previously owned by Archer Milton Huntington (1870–1955) and the Hispanic Society of America

Copy signed by Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) and various members of Congress

Second printed edition of the works of Virgil, published in Venice by Vindelinus de Spira in 1470

Illuminated by the Master of the Prayerbook of Albrecht V

Translated and printed by William Caxton (c. 1422 – c. 1491) in Bruges; the first printed book in English and the first book printed by Caxton. Previously owned by George Hibbert, John Wilks and Thomas Phillipps.

Copy originally owned by George Shuckburgh-Evelyn (1751–1804).

Illuminated Atlas of the Greek Islands on vellum. Previously owned by Thomas Phillipps.

One of 119 complete copies known to exist. Copy originally owned by the Young Men's Association of the City of Buffalo (later Buffalo & Erie County Public Library).

Newton's autograph manuscript revisions to three sections of the first edition of the Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica. Originally owned by David Gregory.

Vellum New Testament in later version, translated into Middle English by Wycliffe and John Purvey.Previously owned by Alexander Peckover and Apsley Cherry-Garrard.

From the illustrated manuscript of Ferdowsi's epic poem presented by Tahmasp to Selim II. Illustration attributed to Aqa Mirak.Previously owned by Edmond de Rothschild and Arthur A. Houghton Jr.

Translation into French by Jean Corbechon of De proprietatibus rerum.Originally made for Charles V of France.

The only known completely coloured copy. Probably the presentation copy given to Charles V by Vesalius in 1543.

Autograph manuscript of a draft for the unfinished novel. Originally owned by Cassandra Austen

Original Apple Partnership Agreement, signed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne

First edition copy originally owned by Jean Joseph Antoine de Courvoisier (1775–1835)

Fair copy. Commissioned by Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland

Autograph manuscript of chapter of Ulysses with additions, revisions and reworkings by Joyce in the margins.Originally owned by John Quinn.

First edition copy originally owned by Lewis Carroll (1832–1898)

59 folios from the second volume of the "Arabic Manuscript".

Broadside printed by John Holt. One of only five surviving Holt broadsides. Originally owned by Colonel David Mulford

Autograph draft manuscript. Originally owned by Jay's sons Peter and William.

Letter from Washington explaining his private thoughts on the U.S. Constitution

Autograph Manuscript. Originally owned by Brian Coffey.

Copy originally owned by George Washington (1732–1799)

Deluxe coloured copy of the first edition

First edition of the enlarged recension of the letters of Hieronymus (Saint Jerome), printed on vellum in Mainz by Peter Schöffer. Previously owned by Thomas Phillipps.

Autograph manuscript owned by Simone Collinet

From the illustrated manuscript of Ferdowsi's epic poem previously owned by Rudolf Martin. Illustration attributed to Burji.

Presentation copy of the first edition given by Newton to Edmond Halley. Inscribed "Luceo. Ex dono doctissimi Authoris" on title page by Halley.

Earliest known copy of the work. Previously owned by Baha' al-Din al-'Amili

First printed atlas of England and Wales and set of five maps and plates illustrating Drake’s expedition to the West Indies, 1585-1586. London, 1588]-1589

First edition printed in Nuremberg by Johann Petreius in 1543

Translated and printed by William Caxton (c. 1422 – c. 1491) in Bruges; the first printed book in English and the first book printed by Caxton. Copy previously owned by 2nd Marquess of Rockingham and 4th Earl Fitzwilliam.

Illuminated manuscript on vellum original owned by John, Duke of Berry and subsequently by Beatrice of Portugal and Henry Pomeroy, 2nd Viscount Harberton.

Miniature manuscript, one of 17 'little' books written by Brontë when she was a child. Purchased by Friends of the National Libraries and subsequently donated to the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

Handwritten manuscript of translation into French of Isaac Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica

First edition of the first vernacular book on algebra and the first description of double-entry bookkeeping

Handwritten working lyrics by Don McLean

Handwritten lyrics by John Lennon

Broadside printed by E. Russell

Six volumes of the author's diaries from 1805 to 1814.

First edition. One of only 500 copies of the original run.

Handwritten manuscript

Author's own copy of the first edition

Timurid or early Safavid Persian manuscript on variously coloured gold-speckled paper

Autograph manuscript by the composer

Autograph Manuscript

First appearance of Spider-Man

The Angel of Bounty and the arrival of the Second Heaven of Pearls

Italian assembled-to-order atlas

First appearance of Batman

Printed in Rome on vellum

First edition printed in Nuremberg by Johann Petreius in 1543

Miniature manuscript, one of six 'little' books written by Brontë. Purchased by Gérard Lhéritier for the Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits. Later purchased by the Brontë Parsonage Museum for $873,600 after Lhéritier's arrest for fraud

Third edition with autograph annotations for second German edition.Originally owned by Heinrich Georg Bronn.

Portfolio and Volumes 1–16

Manuscript letter signed by Hancock as President of Congress

First edition of the complete works of Plato in any language. Translated into Latin by Marsilio Ficino and printed by Lorenzo de Alopa.

Autograph wartime manuscript of mathematical notes. Left in Turing's will to Robin Gandy.

First Ulm edition

Signed by Ruth, Ban Johnson and Harry Frazee

The Two Hells reserved for Misers and Flatterers

First galley proofs of "Du côté de chez Swann". Given to Robert Proust (1873–1935) by the author.

Waldseemüller map printed in gores format to be made into globe