Got $10 million? The world’s most expensive book could be yours
Book collectors with fat wallets take note: A first edition of the rare John James Audubon book “The Birds of America” will be auctioned by Christie’s in New York on Jan. 20. When another copy of “The Birds of America” sold for $11.5 million in 2010, it became the world’s most expensive book.
“The Birds of America” was published in the early 1800s as a serial, with subscribers getting a handful of plates at a time. It was printed on oversized pages, more than 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide; the original black-and-white engravings were hand-colored. It took a decade to complete the project. There are thought to be only about 120 copies of the book in full, which includes 435 color illustrations.
» via The Los Angeles Times
I saw one of these in person, at Duke’s special collections library when Jaime and I visited Willie at work. Very big and very expensive.
