2 Most Expensive Books in the World
Posted on June 19th, 2008 in:
The Codex Leicester: World's most expensive book
The World's Most Expensive Book
The Codex Leicester is the most expensive book ever sold. It was bought by Bill Gates at auction in 1994 for stunning ≈ € 23.22 million ≈ £20,64 million$30,80 million.
Written between 1506 and 1510, The Codex Leicester provides an inside into the inquiring mind of the great Renaissance artist, scientist, and thinker, Leonardo da Vinci.
The Codex is put on public display once a year in a different city around the world. In 2004 it was exhibited in the Château de Chambord, and in 2005 in Tokyo. One page was exhibited at the Seattle Museum of Flight's 2006 exhibit "Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius."
The codex is named after Thomas Coke, later the first Earl of Leicester, who purchased it in 1717.
Physically, the Codex takes the form of 18 sheets of paper, each folded in half and written on both sides, forming the complete 72-page document. It was handwritten in Italian by Leonardo, using his characteristic mirror writing, and supported by copious drawings and diagrams.
From June to August 2007, the codex was the centerpiece of a two month exhibition hosted by the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland.
2nd Most Expensive Book in the World
The second most expensive book ever sold is the Prince Henry's ˝Lion's Gospels˝, 800 year old hand-written medieval masterpiece. The book was auctioned for ≈ € 15.61 million ≈ £13,87 million$20,70 million at Sotheby's in London in 1983.
Henry the Lion, prince of what were then the kingdoms of Saxony and Bavaria commissioned the book in 1188 in honor of the consecration of the St. Mary's altar in the recently completed cathedral in Braunschweig. The text includes all four of the Bible's Holy Gospels on 226 parchment pages. Fifty of these pages are colorful, elaborate pictures with gold leaf.
The Gospels are currently housed in the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel just outside of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony.