9 Books You'll Never Want to Sell (and a few others you might want to)

[Naveed Iqbal]

As a rare book collector, you will come across a few rare books, which you will only be able to get for one time in your life. Once you have those rare books, you will not even come across the need to sell them. Let’s take a look at a few rare books that you would never want to sell.

The Declaration of Independence

It's safe to say that the original Declaration of Independence, which was signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, is one of the most coveted and difficult to find historical documents. Only roughly 26 of the 200 copies that were printed on July 4th, 1776, still exist today. Fun fact: One of the copies was uncovered under a $4 flea market purchase of a painting! That's a great deal considering the paper is worth roughly $9 million!

The First Folio of Shakespeare

Even 400 years after William Shakespeare's death in 1616, his works continue to be among the most influential in the world and have a significant influence on Western literature. Because it is the first reputable compilation of his plays, His First Folio is very rare. It was put together by his friends and associates who helped manage his theatrical company. Between 1622 and 1623, 750 copies are thought to have been produced. Most theater groups favor the 36 plays in The First Folio above the more recent adaptations of Shakespeare's plays since they were initially written with many typographical problems.

The Bible of Gutenberg

The first book ever produced using a printing press was the Gutenberg Bible, which was created in 1440. (By Johannes Gutenberg). The book was first produced in folio form, or as loose-leaf pages that the owner would subsequently have bound to their taste, which adds to its distinctiveness. There are just 48 copies surviving, and one leaf from one sold for $74,000 in 2007.

The Birds of America by Audubon

The famous naturalist James Audubon set out in 1820 to meticulously describe and draw every bird seen in North America, and the result was The Birds of America. So, between 1827 and 1838, he produced a collection of stunning paintings named The Birds of North America and sent them one at a time to his subscribers.

The Codex of Leicester

The Codex of Leicester is a collection of scientific findings made by Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the greatest brains in history. The 72-page book is a compilation of his ideas for future innovations, thoughts about medicine, and other things. There are no other copies of the notebook since it is unique, and Bill Gates had paid more than $30 million for it in 1994. Keep an eye out for it in your hometown since he exhibits it in other US towns.

Don Quixote

The first Don Quixote de La Mancha novel was published by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in 1605. The original edition was last traded for $1.5 million in 1989 and is now exceedingly difficult to find. Every 20 years or so, the book is released in a new translation. We have the earliest English translation of Don Quixote with illustrations.

Poems by Tamerlane and Others

One of the first American poets, Edgar Allen Poe, released his first book of poetry under a pseudonym. There were just 50 copies of Tamerlane and Other Poems, which was purportedly not very excellent. Because the publisher of the book is only identified as "a Bostonian," collectors are curious about the significance of Poe's anonymity.

Ptolemy's Geography and Cosmography

Ptolemy, who flourished about 100 AD, made some of science's most important contributions. He hand-drew a handbook of maps that depicted the globe as he understood it at the time, despite the fact that the printing press was not created during his lifetime. Despite being horribly wrong now, Geographia maps continue to be a valuable tool for understanding how Europe saw the globe at the time. For 1,400 years, his geocentric cosmos model—in which the sun and planets rotate around the earth—was accepted as reality.

On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres by Copernicus

On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres by Copernicus is another outstanding work of scientific discovery. Shapero noted that the heliocentric world, in which the sun, rather than the Earth, is the solar system's center, was realized in this book. This has an impact on all systems of institutionalized worldview, including those of philosophy, science, and religion. Copernicus waited until he was close to death before publishing his discoveries in order to escape the consequences of being accused of heresy during his lifetime. Only 260 copies of On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres are still in existence, and each one is now valued between $1 and $2 million.

J.K. Rowling's Beedle the Bard

Albus Dumbledore leaves Hermione the first edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of wizarding fairy tales and folklore that served as the basis for the discovery of the Deathly Hallows, in the last Harry Potter novel. The imaginary book was such a success that J.K. Rowling created illustrations for it and produced 7 handcrafted copies that were decorated with leather and silver gems, earning them the moniker Moonstone Edition. Six copies were given to the individuals who supported her in creating the Harry Potter series, and the last copy was auctioned to raise money for the Children's Voice charity.

Final words

Check and see if you can be lucky enough to get one of these rare books into your collection. If you can, you will need to keep it cherished in your collection and make sure that you don’t go ahead with selling it.