Top 9 Most Expensive Books in the World You Should Know About

The St Cuthbert Gospel is one of the smallest, oldest, and most expensive books in existence. This small red leather-bound gospel, written in Latin in the 7th century, measures just 5.1 inches by 3.6 inches and is one of the few surviving Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. It contains the Gospel of St. John and is considered to be the personal gospel of St. Cuthbert from Lindisfarne. The book was placed in his tomb when he was buried at Lindisfarne in 698. The intricately decorated leather cover represents the earliest known bookbinding in the West, and both the 94 parchment pages and cover remain in remarkable condition for a book of this era. The St Cuthbert Gospel was purchased by the British Library in 2012 for approximately $14.3 million following a major fundraising campaign. This manuscript is especially valuable as it is the only surviving manuscript of its kind from that period, meticulously preserved in excellent condition.

The Rothschild Prayer Book is a meticulously crafted Flemish manuscript adorned by several artists between 1500 and 1520. Originally thought to have been commissioned for a member of the Habsburg court in the Netherlands, the manuscript was later owned by the Wittelsbach family in the 16th century before being acquired by the Royal Counts. The manuscript remained in their library in Heidelberg until 1623.

After this period, its ownership is unclear until 1868 when it was added to the Rothschild family collection. The manuscript was sold at auction twice, first in 1999 for a record-breaking $13.4 million. The second sale, on January 29, 2014, fetched over $13.6 million with the buyer remaining anonymous. It was later revealed that the successful bidder was Australian businessman and billionaire Kerry Stokes, owner of Seven Network, who purchased the prayer book. It is now part of Stokes' collection in Perth, Australia, and is on loan to the National Library of Australia in Canberra for public display, making it one of the most expensive books in the world.

The Gospels of Henry the Lion is a miniature architectural masterpiece featuring over 266 pages and 50 full-page illustrations that highlight the artistic details of 12th-century Europe. This magnificent work was commissioned by Henry the Lion for the altar of the Virgin Mary at the Brunswick Cathedral. It is one of the four most remarkable gospel manuscripts in existence, showcasing stunning examples of Romanesque illumination dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the Brunswick Cathedral.

The manuscript, containing 266 pages of the four gospels, with 50 full-page illustrations, was sold at auction on December 6, 1983, at Sotheby's in London. The German government purchased it for £8,140,000 (approximately $11.7 million at the time). The Brunswick Cathedral was constructed in 1173, with the altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 1188. While the gospels are believed to have been created around 1175, modern scholars place their origin closer to 1188. This well-preserved manuscript is now housed in the Herzog-August Library in Wolfenbüttel, and for preservation reasons, it is only displayed every two years.

The Birds of America is a monumental work by American-French naturalist and artist John James Audubon (1785–1851). This book features 435 illustrations of various bird species, each accompanied by a detailed description. What makes this collection extraordinary is that the birds are depicted life-sized on large sheets of paper, measuring 98 x 76 cm. It stands as a masterpiece in both scientific and artistic terms.

First published between 1827 and 1838 in Edinburgh and London, The Birds of America is a large-format, hand-colored lithograph series. Of the 119 complete sets that were printed, three have sold for record prices. The book was initially released in four volumes with 200 copies in total. Today, fewer than 100 copies remain, and finding a complete set is rare, as many of the illustrations have been sold individually. During an auction at Sotheby's, a complete copy of the book was purchased by Michael Tollemache for an impressive $10.27 million.

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories by Geoffrey Chaucer, written during the tumultuous period of the Hundred Years' War in late 14th-century England. The book features over 20 tales, primarily in verse, with a few written in prose, all in Middle English.

The tales revolve around a group of pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury Cathedral. During their journey, the innkeeper suggests that each pilgrim tell a story to pass the time, and the best story would earn a free meal at the inn. These stories reflect characters from all walks of life in 15th-century English society.

What sets The Canterbury Tales apart is its use of diverse dialects and its writing in English, rather than the more common languages of the time—Latin or French—making it an innovative work for its era. A copy of the book was sold at auction in 1998 for approximately $7.5 million.

Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories and Tragedies, also known as the "Folio", is the first complete collection of Shakespeare's plays, compiled and published in 1623. The editions were edited by Shakespeare’s close friends, actors John Heminges and Henry Condell, who also supervised the entire printing process.

The book was released seven years after Shakespeare’s death, with approximately 750 to 800 copies printed. Today, around 228 copies remain (as of 2014). Whether comedic, such as A Midsummer Night's Dream, historical, like Henry IV, or tragic, like Hamlet, the plays form an invaluable treasure trove of profound insights into the human condition. These 36 works highlight Shakespeare's contributions as the foremost playwright of Western civilization. This book is among the most valuable in the world, and it was sold for a record-breaking $6.1 million in 2001.

Codex Leicester is a renowned manuscript filled with scientific writings, sketches, diagrams, and notes by Leonardo da Vinci. This rare manuscript offers a glimpse into Leonardo’s understanding of the natural world, from planetary motion to the properties of water and the brightness of the Moon. Over the centuries, its contents have had a profound influence on both artists and scientists, according to Ancient Origins.

Written in the 16th century while Leonardo lived in Florence and worked on his scientific and artistic projects, Codex Leicester is a testament to the genius of the Renaissance. The manuscript is written in Leonardo’s signature ‘mirror writing,’ meaning the text appears reversed from right to left, likely a technique he used to keep his ideas and notes secret. The Codex contains extensive scientific observations on a wide range of natural phenomena, divided into sections that focus on different scientific topics.

According to The New York Times, on May 17th, the Codex Sassoon—a Hebrew Bible manuscript—was sold for $38.1 million in a Sotheby’s auction, surpassing Codex Leicester, which had previously been the world’s most expensive book. In 1994, billionaire Bill Gates purchased Codex Leicester for $30.1 million. However, the most expensive book ever sold remains a 1787 first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution, which fetched $43.2 million in 2021.

The Magna Carta, also known as the ‘Great Charter of English Liberties,’ is a historic document that first imposed legal constraints on the English monarchy, aiming to limit the king's power and protect the rights of citizens under the law. The original Magna Carta, written in Latin, was sealed by King John at Runnymede on June 15, 1215.

Created during the medieval period, its initial purpose was to reduce the power of a centralized monarchy and safeguard individual freedoms. The document is regarded as ‘England’s greatest gift to humanity,’ as it heavily influenced the development of constitutions in the United States and other democracies worldwide, particularly concerning human rights and the rule of law.

In 2007, billionaire philanthropist David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, purchased the only surviving 1297 version of the Magna Carta—confirmed by King Edward I—at a U.S. auction for approximately 21.3 million USD. Rubenstein’s motivation for the purchase was to prevent the historical document from being sold abroad, and it is now housed at the Washington Archives, where it had previously been displayed.

The Bay Psalm Book holds the distinction of being the first book ever printed in Massachusetts (then a British colony, now part of the United States) in 1640. With 300 pages, it is a translation from Hebrew to English of psalms sung by Puritans. Its greatest value lies in its role as the first book printed in colonial America, symbolizing the independence of New England from the Church of England. Initially, 1,700 copies were printed in its first edition.

Despite the passage of time, only 11 copies of the Bay Psalm Book remain today, spread across collections at prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Oxford, the New York Public Library, the Huntington Library in California, and the Old South Church in Boston, which holds two copies. In 2013, one of these rare copies was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York for a record-breaking price of 14.6 million USD to billionaire David Rubenstein.