History has its Price

The art of collecting has metamorphosed into a newfangled way to showcase ones affluence, and extends far beyond the realm of stamps. Currently, AbeBooks is the possessor of some of the globes most highly coveted collectibles, original Atlases. Their current offerings of historic map filled books include “An Atlas of England and Wales” buy Christopher Saxton. Each map inside bears Queen Elizabeth’s coat of arms as a symbol of her supervision and endorsement and dates back to 1574. For $750,000 this piece of history can be yours. If money is no object, then “Ptolemy’s First Atlas” would make an excellent purchase for any antique book aficionado. The text was published 10 years prior to explorer Christopher Columbus’s first expedition to the Americas in 1492 and bears a lofty price tag of  $1.8 million. Other non-atlas texts include “The Origin of Species” by the father of evolution, Charles Darwin, for $179,000 and Jane Austen’s “Emma” for $529,000.