Rare Book Monthly
Strange Book Title Finalists; AbeBooks Latest Top 10
Does your colon consult with you?
10. Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov, signed first editions of his three "Foundation" books from 1951-53. $5,000.
9. Aline et Valcour; ou, Le Roman philosophique by the ever-popular Marquis de Sade. This is an eight-volume 1795 first edition by the Marquis whose erudition will always be overshadowed in most peoples' minds by his interesting lifestyle. $5,224.
8. Histoire générale des Antilles habitées par les François by Jean-Baptiste du Tertre. This is a 1671 history of the Caribbean. $5,224.
7. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, a 1981 uncorrected proof copy signed by the author. Rushdie is another writer doomed to be remembered most for his personal life, in his case, the fatwa on his life promulgated by the humorless Ayatollah Khomeini. $7,400.
6. Sonnets et Eaux Fortes by various authors, noted more for the 42 original etchings in this 1869 edition limited to 350 copies. $8,248.
5. Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, the 1820 third and final book by John Keats, who died at age 25. $8,500.
4. Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather. Here's another humorless clergyman. He was a notable theologian, historian, and even supporter of medical advances, but he too is irredeemably associated with one event - his participation in the Salem witch trials. The "witches" operated in Mather's "invisible world," better known as his imagination. $9,500.
3. The Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ by Eric Gill. Well, Gill isn't actually the author of the Gospels, but he did the illustrations in this 1931 Golden Cockerel Press limited edition. $11,000.
2. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama. A signed first edition of a book that went for less before the election. $12,500.
1. YA-WAE PA-HU-CAE E-CAE AE-TA-NAE E-TU-HCE WA-U-N A-H A. One of my favorites too! Actually, this is an 1843 hymnal written in the transliterated Ioway Indian language. $13,500.
