Things went better than expected at Reiss & Sohn in Königstein: exciting bidding battles broke out over two maps at the autumn auction.
A water-stained print of the world map from a Roman Ptolemy edition of 1507 was estimated at 20,000 euros.
So far, good specimens have usually been traded for small to medium three-digit amounts.
Now even the somewhat dusty ticket was worth 110,000 euros to the successful bidder.
A copper engraved world map in heart projection by Gerard de Jode from 1578 rose from 10,000 euros to 64,000 euros. .
A Fendler toy sample book achieved 34,000 euros (18,000).
With a supplement of 90.
Estimates in the five-figure range were not found very often in the catalog for Hartung & Hartung's recent auction in Munich, and there were no major surprises during the auction.
A comprehensive collection of travelogues, first published in 1507 as "Paesi novamente retrovati" and offered here as a rare French reprint without printer's mark, achieved 62,000 euros and thus remained below his estimate of 70,000 euros.
A copy of Sebastian Münter's "Cosmographia", on the other hand, sold better: the edition from 1592 in beautiful coloring was sold for 15,000 euros (8000).
An atlas by Mentelle from 1797, estimated at 12,000 euros, a 1573 Latin edition of Ortelius' Theatrum orbis terrarum, estimated at 34,000, and a large atlas by Frederick de Wit, circa 1700,
The ZVAB internet platform has also developed into a marketplace for higher-priced and rare works.
On the list of the ten most expensive sales of 2022 in the central directory of antiquarian books, there are only prices in the five-digit range.
Just last year, a calligraphic work of art by Matthias Buchinger for 10,600 euros, which topped the list of top sales, reached this level.
Now there is a first edition of Andrea Palladio's architectural theory "I quattro libri dell'architettura" from 1570, which changed hands for 57,064 euros, followed by a first edition of James Cook's travelogues for 47,867 euros.
Books from large editions can also become valuable, for example when handwritten entries make them unique.
The grandmother of the bestselling author Stephen King owned an American first edition of Jules Verne's "The Tour of the World in 80 Days" including an autograph by Jules Verne with a reference to two upcoming titles (28,720 euros).
A first edition of "How to Trade in Stocks" from 1940, signed by the author Jesse Livermore, was worth 39,525 euros to its buyer.
The stock trader made a fortune in the 1920s with a trading formula he developed - and lost it again because he apparently did not follow his own rules.