What are the rarest books in the world?

Check out the 5 rarest books in the world

The rarest books in the world are considered valuable examples, but they can also be extremely expensive because of this special character.

1) Codex Leicester

The most expensive book in the world is Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester. In November 1994, the work was sold to billionaire Bill Gates for the current value of R$ 30 million, thus becoming the most valuable work in the entire world.

In summary, this work consists of a collection of da Vinci's collections and scientific writings. However, it ranges from the inventor's observations in relation to astronomy to analyzes of the properties of water, air and celestial light.

Therefore, it brings together much of the scientific knowledge and notes of the Renaissance genius. Interestingly, it was written in the opposite direction, with the help of a mirror, so that it would not be easily decoded and the ideas would not be stolen.

2) Magna Carta

The copy of Magna Carta Libertatum was bought at auction for more than 20 million euros. In this sense, it is a letter written by the Archbishop of Canterbury defending peace between King John of England and the rebel barons who opposed the government of that monarchical representative.

3) Gospel of Henry the Lion

This book was specially planned by the Duke of Saxony, also known as Henry the Lion. In this sense, it was created to be placed on the altar of the Virgin Mary, being a true masterpiece of romantic illustrations from the 12th century, as it contains numerous pages decorated by hand.

The original example is estimated to have sold at auction for over £8.1 million. The work is currently being preserved in Germany.

4) Book of Psalms of the Bay

Another of the rarest books in the world is the Book of Psalms of Bahia. In summary, it is the first book printed in American territory, more specifically in the year 1640. Interestingly, there are 11 copies of this book known, one of which was sold for R$ 26.4 million about 3 years ago.

5) Gospel of Saint Cuthbert

Also known as “Saint John's Gospel”, the copy with Latin words is original from the 7th century. In this sense, it is one of the 7 rarest books in the world because it is the oldest intact manuscript in the history of Europe. It is estimated that it sold in 2012 for over $14.2 million to the British Library.

Also known as the Gospel of St. Cuthbert, this work has a special hand-decorated leather binding. Specifically, it consists of 94 handwritten sheets on vellum, a type of satin parchment with high value since antiquity.

Would you have the courage to disburse these figures to obtain these books?

What was the most expensive book you ever bought?

We, here at the Blog, prefer promotions and the good old used book SEBO.

Good reading,

March 31, 2023

Article by, Sidney Matias