Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press at approximately 1439.
About 30 years later, “The Jewish War,” written by Flavius Josephus in the first century, was published.
It is currently for sale at Powell’s Books for $12,500.
It is one of the many books found in the Rare Book Room of Portland’s independent bookseller. There is a copy of “The Little Prince,” first published in 1943 by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, yours for $9,000. It is number 458 of the 500 from this printing.
There is a collection by John Keats, once owned by Jack Kerouac, which also has his name and notes inside. There are signed books from Tennessee Williams and Fred Astaire, and others from the 17th and 18th centuries.
However, the crown jewel of the Rare Book Room is “History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. 1.”
“We just call them the journals, the Lewis and Clark journals,” used book buyer Kirsten Berg said. “This is the most expensive book, or set of books, that we own, and we bought it because it’s so closely tied with Oregon history.”
It is valued at $350,000.
Inside it contains the first detailed map of the Pacific Northwest, which was made on the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 19th Century.
Read the rest of the article on the Rare Book Room at Powell’s City of Books by Tim Becker of KOIN 6: http://powells.us/10dLlBM
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