ABE Books's 50 Most Expensive Book Sales of 2014

Well thank goodness there are a FEW books of poetry on here (or at least works by poets). Clocking in at numbers 23 and 41 are Auguste Rodin, by Rainer Maria Rilke and Lyrical Ballads, by William Wordsworth, respectively. Start saving up! (We'll start from the top.)

1. Les Maîtres de L'Affiche (5 vols) - $43,450
This translates as Masters of the Poster, which was a monthly illustrated French publication published between December 1895 and November 1900. The magazine, produced under the leadership of Jules Cheret, contained reproductions of the best Art Nouveau posters of the era from both French and international artists. This is a five-volume collection featuring 256 posters from 97 artists.

2. Das Kapital by Karl Marx - $40,000
Published in 1867 by Otto Meissner with German text, this copy of Das Kapital was the only one published in Marx's lifetime (he died in 1883). The book is housed in a slipcover with cloth wrapping. It's not the first time that a copy of Das Kapital has sold for a high price via AbeBooks. In November 2011, a very rare copy in three volumes sold for $51,739. Interest in Marx's book, which arguably did indeed help change the world, remains as strong as ever.

3. Aquatilium animalium historiae, liber primus, cum eorundem formis, aere excusis by Ippolito Salviani - $22,638
Published in 1554, this rare Renaissance book contains 81 engravings of Mediterranean fish collected by Italian physician Ippolito Salviani from Rome's markets. The book was the first to use copper-engravings for illustrating marine life, which had previously been depicted by woodcuts. Salviani's patron and benefactor was Marcello Cervini, later pope Marcellus II. Salviani (1514-1572) was a professor of medicine and physician to three popes. The names of the fishes are listed in Latin, Greek and Vulgar Latin.

4. Call for the Dead by John le Carré - $22,500
A fine first edition, complete with a near fine yellow dust jacket, of le Carré's debut book, which introduced readers to George Smiley - the very British spy who uses brains rather than brawn in his Cold War tussles. Published in 1961 by Gollancz, the book is signed by the author, "David Cornwell aka John le Carré" on the title page.

5. La Dioptrique oculaire ou la théorique, la positive et la méchanique, de l'oculaire dioptrique en toutes ses espèces - $21,112
The most exhaustive treatise on lens making in the 17th century, examining the mechanics of all manner of eyepieces. [...]

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