NOTE: Items numbers are now included in this article. They are in the individual auction comments section below the author and title. Click the links to see the listings.
Keeping up with what sells for the highest prices on eBay is always interesting. But in August, the winner in the Antiquarian & Collectible category had an unusual
wow factor. Though book related, it wasn't a book at all. The rest of that list included Moby Dick wedged between 4 volumes of the 1853
American Flora ... and Helmut Newton's Sumo. If you read Hebrew, be sure to see #5 in the Antiquarian & Collectible list.
In the Fiction Top 10, a US seller placed 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 10th with Stephen King titles. The non-fiction list ranged from Julia Child to Dwight Eisenhower to
Barack Obama.
eBay
Fiction Top 10
August 2009
| #1 |
$7,493.93 |
1851 HERMAN MELVILLE MOBY DICK THE WHALE FIRST EDITION |
| #2 |
$3,500.00 |
Stephen King- The Gunslinger Grant Signed Limited #109 |
| #3 |
$2,587.01 |
Clive Cussler , Iceberg , 1st British Edition 1978 D/W
| #4 |
$1,436.11 |
Stephen King- The Gunslinger Sphere Uncorrected Proof |
| #5 |
$1,200.00 |
"WE" by Charles A. Lindbergh |
| #6 |
$950.00 |
Stephen King- Salems Lot Signed Limited Ed. One of 300 |
| #7 |
$849.00 |
The Haunted Air by F. Paul Wilson (2002, Hardcover) |
| #8 |
$764.17 |
Lord of the Rings. Folio Society. Goat skin Deluxe. |
| #9 |
$737.77 |
Robert Heinlein Gnome Press Sixth Column Pristine |
| #10 |
$711.00 |
Stephen King- The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Grant 1st |
|
A 1st edition, 1st state 1851 copy of Moby Dick attracted 8 bids to sell for $7,493.93. "Only 2,800 copies were originally published and many ... were tought destroyed in the 1851 Harpers
warehouse fire." The book is described as having very good covers with a rebacked spine; pages are complete and in very good condition.
The like new signed limited edition sold after a single bid. The same seller sold #4, #6, and #10.
Listed by a UK seller, the 1st British edition attracted 15 bids. It was described as in near fine condition in a very good dust jacket.
4 bids took the advanced uncorrected proof in very good condition to $1,436.11. The same seller sold #2, #6, and #10.
Signed by the author and publisher, the 1st edition sold as a BIN. It is #258 of 1000 published, and is described as "pages are crisp and seldom opened, slight water stain."
The signed limited edition (#300 or 300) was published by Centiupede Press. It was described "as near, unread with a couple minor scuffs on the slipcase...." The same
seller sold #2, #4, and #10.
Sold as a Best Offer, the new condition signed limited 1st edition was published in 2002 by Gauntlet.
#8
The Fellowship of the Rings
The Two Towers
The Return of the Kind
The Hobbitt
J.R.R. Tolkien
390079586047
A Folio Society limited edition set, the 4 volumes are "handbound in Morrocan goatskin leather and pure Indian silk. Sold by a UK seller, it attracted 29 bids.
#9
Sixth Column
Methuselah's Children
Robert Heinlein
330349261993
The 2 Gnome Press 1st editions sold after 10 bids. The 1949 and 1958 book are described as "in absolutely pristine condition, dust jacket perfect and radiant." They sold
after 10 bids.
7 bids took the 1982 1st limited edition in near fine condition to $711. The same seller sold #2, #4, and #6.
eBay
Non-Fiction Top 10
August 2009
| #1 |
$4,295.00 |
Hiroshi Sugimoto: Theaters, LTD Ed (w/ Photogravure Pr) |
| #2 |
$1,620.99. |
Mastering the Art of French Cooking Julia Child Signed |
| #3 |
$1,327.51 |
NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS 1st Blue Cover Edition Basic Text |
| #4 |
$1,051.00 |
EDWARD RUSCHA Thirty Four Parking Lots in Lost Angeles G |
| #5 |
$950.00 |
NEW TOPOGRAPHICS - ADAMS, BALTZ, ECHER, SHORE - RARE! |
| #6 |
$905.01 |
Dwight Eisenhower Mandate for Change Signed LTD WWII |
| #7 |
$875.00 |
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child |
| #8 |
$870.00 |
Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies |
| #9 |
$865.56 |
Architecture & Modern Life-Gilbert Rohde's Copy-1st Ed |
| #10 tie |
$810.00 |
SIGNED 1st Ed. Audacity of Hope Pres. Barack Obama |
| #10 tie |
$810.00 |
Moon Walk by Michael Jackson, Autographed in Blue Pen |
The 2000 deluxe limited edition book was sold in new condition as a BIN.
#1
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Volume Two Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle, and Julia Child
200372643990
The 1st volume is a stated 1st edition, and the 2nd volume contains the signatures of both Julia and Paul Child. After 26 bids, the pair sold for $1,620.99
Listed in good condition, the 1982 1st edition attracted 6 bids.
#4
Thirty Four Parking Lots in Los Angeles
Edward Ruscha
110421573132
The 1967 1st edition received 20 bids before selling for $1,051.
#5
New Topographics: Photographs of a Man-Altered Landscape
Hiroshi Sugimoto
200332754640
Calling it an "extremely scarce 1975 George Eastman House Catalogue," the seller describes it as in like new condition and notes it was among the 2,500 in the edition.
18 bids took the 1st edition in dust jacket to $875.
#7
Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle, and Julia Child
180396848738
18 bids took the 1st edition in dust jacket to $875.
The copy, in very good condition, sold as a BIN.
#9
Architecture and Modern Life
Baker Brownell and Frank Lloyd Wright
130323736140
It's easy to buy a 1st edition of this 1937 classic. In fact, there are 6 copies available from $21 on Amazon today. What makes this copy different is it was previously
owned by Gilbert Rohde, the noted American designer. It sold after 11 bids.
21 bids took the like new signed 1st edition to $810.
The signed 1st edition tied for #10.
By the Numbers
Note: Due to a tie, there are 21 listings
in the Top 10 Fiction and Non-fiction categories.
19 sellers were from the USA
2 sellers was from the UK
1 seller sold 4 books
17 books were published during or after 1950
4 were published before 1950
Seller feedback ranged from 36 to 131,950
3 purchases were BIN
2 purchases were Best Offer
16 listings were sold by sellers with 100% positive feedback
Feedback percentage ranged from 97.3% to 100% for sellers who had feedback
The oldest book was published in 1851.
*feedback is noted at the time the auction is viewed by BookThink.
eBay
Antiquarian & Collectible Top 5
August 2009
| #1 |
$12,299.99 |
F SCOTT FITZGERALD FIRST EDITION TENDER IS THE NIGHT DJ |
| #2 |
$8,500.00 |
1853 AMERICAN FLORA 278 Hand-Colored Plates, ASA STRONG |
| #3 |
$7,493.93 |
1851 HERMAN MELVILLE MOBY DICK THE WHALE FIRST EDITION |
| #4 tie |
$7,000.00 |
Helmut Newton Sumo - Original Signed Number 04627 |
| #4 tie |
$7,000.00 |
Very old jewish Book in hebrew appr.500 years old ! |
#1
Tender is the Night dust jacket only
The Beautiful and the Dammed dust jacket only
160354082375
At BookThink, we routinely exclude listings that don't include the book itself. In this case, the fact that 2 dust jackets could be atop the Antiquarian and Collectible
top 10 list called for an
exception. After 28 bids, they sold for $12,299.99.
#2
The American Flora
or
History of Plants and Wild Flowers
Containing Their Scientific and General Description ...
4 vols.
A. B. Strong, M.D.
370246223715
The 4-volume leather-found set published in 1853 sold for $8,500 as a BIN.
#3 on the Antiquarian and Collectible list is #1 on the Fiction list.
A single bid won the "Original Signed Number 04627" of Sumo.
#4 tie
[Very old jewish Book in hebrew appr.500 years old]
280384764433
The German seller explained, "The book is very old. I estimate the age of around 500 years.
Unfortunately I do not speak hebrew and I've no idea about the name of the book. So I made alot of photos, that you
can identify this book and I hope someone can give me the information." The auction ended with 35 bids.
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