If you have a collection of dusty old books at home, it might be time to scan your shelves for rarities.
First editions of culturally significant literary works can sell for big money at auction. In this article, we pick out five that went under the hammer for eye-watering prices.
Sadly, they don’t include that copy of The Da Vinci Code you picked up in WH Smith at the airport a few years ago…
Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone
If you’ve caught a train from London’s Kings Cross Station in the last decade, you’ll probably have noticed the queues of scarf- and spectacle-wearing wand wavers lining up to have their photos taken by the sign for Platform 9 ¾ – the Harry Potter exhibit.
To say Potter fans are enthusiastic about the book series is an understatement. More than 500 million copies have been sold worldwide, making it one of the most popular titles in history.
And in March 2022, one devotee splashed out £69,000 for a pristine first edition of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, printed in 1997. The book had been kept in darkness, unread and in a protective sleeve for 25 years. The original price? £12.99. As a return on investment goes, that really is magical.
The Hobbit
JRR Tolkien’s fantasy following the adventures of pint-sized hero Bilbo Baggins is considered a timeless classic, so it’s no wonder a first edition is worth approximately the same as the treasure its titular character goes on a mission to steal.
The novel was first published on 21 September 1937 with an initial print run of 1,500 copies. And in 2015 one of those first editions sold at Sotheby’s in London for £137,000. Not only was the book in near-perfect condition, but it also contained a hand-written dedication by the author to its original recipient, Katherine (“Kitty”) Kilbride, who’d been one of Tolkien’s first students when he taught at Leeds University in the 1920s.
Pride And Prejudice
In April 2022, someone walked away with a tidy sum of money under their bonnet having sold a first edition of Jane Austen’s classic novel for a record £87,500. Printed in three hard-cover volumes, the book was one of 1,500 published during its first run in 1813.
The Great Gatsby
If you want a first-edition copy of this American classic, you’ll need a similar level of wealth to its main character. When sold with its original dust jacket, The Great Gatsby can be one of the most expensive rare books on the market — in 2013, a copy was bought for £125,000.
One of the notable features of that first print run was that it included a typo on the back of the dust jacket; “jay Gatsby” had been spelt with a lowercase “j,” over which a correction was made (by hand) in ink or with a stamp.
Casino Royale
The classic spy novel — Ian Fleming’s first — was inspired by a wartime trip to Portugal. Fleming claimed he had gone to a casino in Lisbon and was “cleaned out” by a German agent.
That German agent wasn’t the only person who earned a fortune from the author. In October 2019 a first edition copy of Casino Royale sold at auction for a world-record £55,000, smashing its pre-sale estimate of £18,000. Martinis all round!
Got a valuable first edition or another luxury item you’d like to raise funds against? Almagrove has 30 years of experience in the industry. Contact us to find out more.