As a rare book lover, you must be concerned about getting the rarest books that exist out there in the world to your collection. However, collecting such rare books will never be an easy thing to do. That’s because you will need to struggle hard to get the books into your collection.
Shapero says in order to make life easy for you with collecting rare books, we thought of sharing some details about rarest books available out there in the world and how to locate them. You might not be able to buy these books. But it is worthy to visit the places where these books are and enjoy taking a look at them.
Page Contents
1. Tamerlane and Other Poems by Edgar Allen Poe
source:amazon.com
Edgar Allan Poe’s Tamerlane and Other Poem is the first chapbook written by Poe. Only 50 copies of this book were published. He could not publish any other copies as he died.
Due to the nature of content written in the book and the limited availability of copies, it has been able to become one of the rarest books available out there as of now. A book collector would spend more than $650,000 to purchase a copy of this book. In fact, only 12 copies of the book are available as of now. If you want to take a look at one of those copies, you can visit the Huntington Library.
2. Ulysses by James Joyce
source:rd.com
Ulysses is one of the most prominent books published by James Joyce. He could not find a publisher for this book during the initial days. However, Shakespeare and Company located in Paris finally agreed to print just 1,000 copies of the book. As of now, one copy out of those published books sell for almost $450,000. It is considered as one of the best 20th Century Artifacts as well. If you want to take a look at this book, you should be visiting Z. Smith Reynolds Library.
3. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
source:rd.com
The Tale of Peter Rabbit is one of the most valuable children’s books available as of now. When Beatrix Potter wanted to publish this book, she had to go through numerous struggles. In fact, her request was rejected by a large number of publishers. The main concern that publishers came up with was the length of the book. They didn’t like the black and white illustrations of the book as well.
However, she managed to get just 250 copies of the book published. Due to the difficulties in publishing, Beatrix Potter didn’t want to sell the book. She decided to gift the 250 copies among her family members and friends. However, one copy out of them is worthy around $125,000 as of now. You can see this book at Morgan Library and Museum as of now.
4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
source:rd.com
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the very first book of the popular Harry Potter series. This book was written by J.K. Rowling and it was published by Bloomsbury Press back in the year 1997. J.K. Rowling was also rejected by numerous publishers back in the day.
Therefore, she could only manage to get 500 hardbound copies of this book published. Out of those 500 copies, around 200 books are available for sale as of now. This edition of the book has some errors, which further enhance the overall value. Due to the same reason, book collectors tend to spend around $80,000 to purchase a copy of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone first edition book. A copy of this book is currently available at Costen Children’s Library.
5. In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway
source:amazon.com
In Our Time book was published by Ernest Hemingway back in the year 1924. This is the very first book that the author published as well. It provided an excellent platform for him to start working as a short story writer. This is a shorter version of the book.
During 1924, only 300 copies of In Our Time book were printed. Out of those book, around 170 books are were destroyed due to portrait bleeding of Hemingway. Hence, the remaining books are extremely valuable. One of those books is worthy around $75,000. You can find a copy of the book available for sale at Bibiliotheque Nationale de France as of now.
6. First Folio by William Shakespeare
source:rd.com
Books written by William Shakespeare are extremely valuable as of now. Out of those books, First Folio can be considered as the most valuable book. That’s because First Folio is the very first authoritative collection that presents the work of the author.
The First Folio book contains 36 different plays written by William Shakespeare. These plays were selected by the business partners and friends of Shakespeare. Around 750 different copies of this book were published as well. Out of them, you can find 240 existing out there in the world as of now. The rare book collectors are willing to spend more than $5 million to purchase one copy of the book. A book is currently available for seeing at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
7. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
source:rd.com
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is the most iconic book that was published by Lewis Carroll. This book was published initially in the year 1865. Only 2000 copies of the book were published. However, these books were recalled after a short period of time due to some of the complaints that were put forward by the illustrator of the book, John Tenniel.
As a result, a new set of books were released. 1866 books were released for the recalled books. Among the initial 2000 copies, around 25 books are existent as of now. One copy out of those books would cost around $3 million. You can see a one at the Morgan Library and Museum.
Just check whether you are lucky enough to get one of these books into your collection. Are there some other rare books that you would like to own?
