Popular books’ first editions tend to become the most valuable in literature. Get ready to make money if you have one of these uncommon books sitting on a shelf.
First Folio by William Shakespeare (worth $5.2 million)
The First Folio is a collection of 23 plays by William Shakespeare, including The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, and Romeo and Juliet. It was first published under the original title Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. It is credited with ensuring that his plays continue to be performed today. It was first published in 1623, seven years after the famous playwright passed away. Shakespeare’s plays might have been lost forever if not for it. First Folio was auctioned off in 2006 at Sotheby’s in New York for $5.2 million (roughly $6.3 million today). You could make a lot of money if any of these things are collecting dust in your attic.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (worth $180,159)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen were first published in three volumes in 1813 and cost only 18 shillings (roughly $1.16 in today’s money). Only 1,500 copies were printed and distributed, possibly because it was seen as a disposable novel when it was first published. But thanks to a number of film and television adaptations, Pride and Prejudice went on to achieve literary status throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
The three volumes’ first edition went up for auction at Sotheby’s in London in 2010 and brought £139,250 (about $179,870). For a total of more than £3.1 million (roughly $4 million), the private collector also bought a number of other literary treasures, including Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, among others. Depending on the condition, other first editions of Pride and Prejudice, however, can cost up to $45,000. If you enjoy reading, don’t miss these quotations from works that are rich in knowledge, wit, and reality.
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (worth $11.2 million)
The first edition of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer was auctioned off in 1998 at Christie’s in London. The English masterpiece was purchased by billionaire philanthropist Sir Paul Getty for £4.6 million (roughly $11.2 million today). The original owner of the copy sold at Christie’s in 1776 during a sale of John Radcliffe’s library was Earl Fitzwilliam of the County of Tyrone. For the first edition, he originally paid £6 (roughly $7.75 in today’s money).
The Canterbury Tales was printed for the first time by William Caxton in 1477. There are only 12 remaining rare books. These playthings from your youth might be extremely valuable right now.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (worth $194,000)
One of those hard-to-find books is the first edition of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald with the original dust jacket. Only about 25,000 copies had been sold by the time the author passed away in 1940, so it wasn’t a best-seller when it was first published in 1925. A first edition with the dust jacket, however, can sell for more than $194,000. On the back of the dust jacket of a first edition, there is a typo that reads “jay Gatsby” with a lowercase “j.” This spelling mistake was fixed manually using ink or a stamp.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (worth about $2 to $3 million)
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, first published in 1865, is one of the most sought-after first editions in literature. Only 2,000 copies were printed during its initial run, but they were immediately recalled at the request of illustrator John Tenniel. Tenniel preferred a second printing to the first because he was dissatisfied with the way the print came out. Lewis Carroll did, however, distribute a few copies of the original to friends and family prior to the first print being called back.
Only 22 copies of the original edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland are still in existence. Six are in possession of private collectors, and sixteen are held in institutional libraries. A copy that was “excessively rare” and was expected to fetch $2 to $3 million was put up for auction at Christie’s in 2016. However, if you are unable to pay that high sum, you can purchase a second printing of the first edition for about $49,000.
The Gutenberg Bible (worth $5.39 million)
One of the original Gutenberg Bibles was auctioned off in New York City in 1987. A staggering $5.39 million (roughly $11.5 million today) was paid for the book, the first to be printed using movable type, setting a record at the time for the highest price ever paid for a single book. In order to raise money for the training of additional clergy, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles sold the Bible to one of the largest booksellers in Japan.
