Oldest privately owned book sells for £3 million at UK sale

Crosby-Schoyen

The oldest privately owned book in existence, and one of the earliest known books, was sold at auction in London for more than £3 million. The Crosby-Schoyen Codex, which contains the earliest complete copies of two biblical texts, the book of Jonah and Peter's first epistle, was previously owned by Norwegian businessman and rare book collector Martin Schoyen. This significant manuscript, written in Coptic script on double-sided papyrus leaves, was discovered by Egyptian farmers in the 1950s.

The auction, held at Christie's, saw enthusiastic bidding both online and in person. The starting bid was £1.7 million, but the final selling price, including taxes, was £3,065,000 ($3,898,000). The winning bid came from an anonymous phone bidder.

The codex, copied by a monk in what is now Egypt around the fourth century AD, is at least 1,600 years old. This makes it significantly older than many other ancient texts, such as the Gutenberg Bible, which dates from the 1450s. The codex's Coptic script and the use of double-sided papyrus leaves represent a technological advancement from the more common single-sided scrolls of that time.

In addition to the Crosby-Schoyen Codex, twelve other select pieces from the Schoyen Collection were auctioned. This collection comprises over 20,000 pieces, spanning 5,000 years of history, from 3,500 BC to the present day. Despite the impressive sale of the codex, it is not the highest price ever paid for a rare text. Last year, the Codex Sassoon, a Hebrew Bible more than 1,000 years old, sold for $38.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York, setting a new record.

This surpassed the previous record of $30.8 million paid by Microsoft founder Bill Gates in 1994 for Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester manuscript. The most expensive historical document remains one of the first prints of the US Constitution, which Sotheby’s sold for $43 million in November 2021.

The Crosby-Schoyen Codex stands out not only for its age and the completeness of its biblical texts but also for its journey through history and its preservation. Found in Egypt in the mid-20th century, it has been preserved between plexiglass plates, ensuring that its ancient papyrus leaves remain intact for future generations to study and appreciate.

Martin Schoyen, the previous owner, is known for his extensive collection of rare manuscripts and books, which includes items from various periods and regions around the world. His collection aims to preserve and showcase the written word’s history and evolution over millennia. The sale of the Crosby-Schoyen Codex is a testament to the enduring value and fascination of ancient texts, as well as the lengths collectors and institutions will go to preserve such invaluable pieces of history.

The auction highlighted the continuous interest in rare manuscripts and historical documents, reflecting their importance in understanding human history and culture. The Crosby-Schoyen Codex, with its ancient biblical texts, provides a unique glimpse into early Christian scriptural traditions and the development of bookmaking technologies in antiquity.

As this ancient manuscript changes hands, it underscores the ongoing responsibility of preserving historical texts for future generations. The Crosby-Schoyen Codex, now in the possession of an anonymous collector, will likely continue to be a subject of scholarly interest and admiration, contributing to our understanding of early Christian writings and the history of the written word.