These 13 Rare Books Cost Thousands Of Dollars But Here's Where You Can Find Them

Hint: The answer is always the library.

1. Ernest Hemingway's In Our Time, Bibliothèque nationale de France

Three Mountain Press / Via historical.ha.com

Hemingway's in our time, published in 1924 by three mountain press in France would kick off his career as a short story writer. It is a shorter version of his 1925 collection of the same name (styled as In Our Time). Though 300 copies were printed, only 170 were salvageable due to Hemingway's portrait bleeding through the pages. One of these can go for up to $75,000.

2. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Cotsen Children's Library

Afp Contributor / AFP / Getty Images

The very first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was printed by Bloomsbury Press in 1997. There were only 500 hardbound copies made and experts estimate that only 200 sell-able copies exist today. An error on Harry's school supply list that was corrected in later editions makes this version extremely valuable, with some paying up to $81,250 for one.

3. Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Morgan Library & Museum

Carl Court / Getty Images

When Beatrix Potter originally tried to publish her beloved children's book, publishers refused, citing its length and black and white illustrations. So, she had 250 copies published herself, which she gifted to friends and family. Some can be worth up to $125,000.

4. Charles Darwins' On The Origin Of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Cambridge University Library

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

Darwins' On The Origin of Species was widely read when it was first published. Approximately 1250 copies were printed, with Mudie's Library obtaining 500 of those copies for distribution. Recently one copy sold for $170,569.

5. James Joyces's Ulysses, Z. Smith Reynolds Library

Fran Caffrey / AFP / Getty Images

James Joyce couldn't find a publisher for Ulysses at first, so Shakespeare and Company in Paris published 1,000 copies in the first edition. In 2009, a first edition sold for $442,900, a hefty sum for a 20th century artifact.

6. Edgar Allan Poe's Tamerlane and Other Poems, The Huntington Library

Public domain

Tamerlane and Other Poems is Poe's first chapbook, and he only printed 50 copies. The writer, who died impoverished, would have been surprised to know that collectors today pay up to $662,500 for a copy, and only 12 survive today. Especially of interest is Poe's anonymity; the book's author is listed as "A Bostonian."

7. Nicolaus Copernicus’ On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres, Miguel de Benavides Library

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

A first edition of Copernicus' book, which helped popularize the concept of a sun-centric universe, can set you back as much as $2 million. There are only 260 copies left.

8. Lewis Carroll's Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Morgan Library & Museum

Rischgitz / Getty Images

Carroll's iconic work has a weird publication history. Initially released as an edition of 2000 in 1865, these copies were soon recalled due to complaints from the books illustrator, John Tenniel. A new set, dated 1866 were released in their place. Today about 25 copies of the original survive, and Christie's recently valued a copy at between 2-3 million dollars.

9. William Shakespeare's First Folio, Folger Shakespeare Library

Scott Barbour / Getty Images

It is generally agreed upon that Shakespeare is a big deal. Collectors salivate over his works, but especially his First Folio, the very first authoritative collection of his work. It contains 36 plays, each selected by Shakespeare's friends and business partners. Of the original 750 copies printed, there are said to be less than 240 in existence. One of these might set you back upwards of $5 million.

10. James Audubon’s The Birds of America, Toronto Public Library

Public Domain / Via commons.wikimedia.org

In 1820, James Audubon set out to document all the birds in America. (Wild!) The result was a massive collection of life-size hand-colored illustrations of 435 North American birds, often called the "Double-Elephant Folio" because of its size. Experts believe around 200 complete books were made and that 120 survive today. Copies have been known to sell for as much as $9.6 million.

11. Bay Psalm Book, Boston Public Library

Mpi / Getty Images

This is the first book to ever be printed in the United States. 11 copies exist, but only five are complete. An American financier bought one for over $14 million. The book held by the Boston Public Library is actually owned by Old South Church in Boston.

12. Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester, Uffizi Gallery (until 2019)

Tiziana Fabi / AFP / Getty Images

The only copy of da Vinci's notes and drawings were bought by Bill Gates in 1994 for over $30.8 million. Lucky for you, he routinely lends it out to libraries and museums. He also had the Codex scanned, so that some of the pages became wallpaper and screensavers for early Windows computers.

13. Gutenberg Bible, Goettingen State and University Library

Afp / AFP / Getty Images

The Gutenberg Bible is the first work ever printed by Johann Gutenberg's revolutionary invention, the printing press. About 50 copies have survived and only 23 of those are complete. The full Bible is 1,286 pages and in 2007 a single page went on sale for $74,000.