Could you be sitting on a rare book worth thousands?

While books may be well known for nurturing the soul, for the lucky (or prescient) ones among us, the right book can also line our pockets with money, with prices for some sought-after tomes stretching into the hundreds of thousands.

At Douglas Stewart Fine Books on High Street, Armadale, a particularly notable example of this is a page from the Gutenberg Bible, dating from 1455 and sold by the store for $90,000 in 2011 to the University of Melbourne.

Those with foresight could have bought the book Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling in 1997 for the modest amount of $20. Today, the price is $1000.Credit: AP

Or from more recent times, Barry Humphries’ book My Gorgeous Life, released in 1989, autographed by Humphries when he visited the Armadale bookstore and retailing for $220 (including GST).

For owner Douglas Stewart, his interest in rare and antiquated books started at the age of 11, with the books he bought at opportunity shops and garage sales being resold to universities.

Included in his collection is a book by William Bligh, who sailed with Captain Cook in the Pacific and was best known for the mutiny of the HMS Bounty and being governor of NSW. Completed in 1792 and signed by Bligh, the book is inscribed to his wife Elizabeth.

“Normally, this book would sell for between $15,000 and $20,000, but because of its provenance, the price is $95,000,” says Stewart, who suggests books on Charles Darwin’s Origin of the Species from the 19th century are a good entrée into the market – starting at a couple of hundred dollars.

Many of the books found on Stewart’s bookshelves don’t come with such eye-watering price tags. Those with foresight could have bought the first Australian edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling in 1997 for the modest amount of $20. Today, the price is $1000 (including GST).

“You’ll still see this book on people’s bookshelves or if you’re fortunate enough, in a secondhand store or at a market. There are rare books all around us,” says Stewart, whose collection includes books on artist Lindy Lee, architect Zaha Hadid, photographer Bill Henson and on the artist/illustrator Touko Valio Laaksonsen.

Touko, known by the pseudonym Tom of Finland, created illustrations for magazines such as Beefcake and Physique Pictorial, and his work was considered pornographic in the late 1940s. His exaggerated muscly portraits later inspired fashion designers such as Thierry Mugler, who transformed these muscles into oversized shoulder pads in the 1980s.

William Bligh’s voyage to the South Sea, worth some $95,000.Credit: Douglas Stewart

While Tom of Finland’s illustrations were hidden under beds for many decades, his work, along with his books, is now highly collectable. The original price for Physique Pictorial was a mere 35¢. Stewart sold a small collection five years ago to the National Gallery of Australia for $1000.

“Tom influenced artists such as Robert Mapplethorpe and fashion photographer and filmmaker Bruce Weber,” adds Stewart, who regularly travels overseas to antiquarian book fairs around the world, including Hong Kong and Amsterdam, as well as holding annual events such as the Rare Book Fair at the University of Melbourne.

Tim White, who owns the store Books for Cooks, a shopfront in Victoria Street, Melbourne (on the edge of Victoria Market), specialises in vintage books that cover food, drink and gastronomy.

As vice president of the Australia and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ANZAAB), White sells books from as early as 1650, a time when, he says, “the middle classes started taking food more seriously”.

“They’re often referred to as ‘brag’ books as chefs would prepare recipes for important people such as the pope,” says White. One of his most cherished books was written in the mid-20th century by British food writer Elizabeth David, who influenced New York food writer and television presenter Julia Child (with the film starring Meryl Streep), a decade later.

“This edition of two books is $3000,” says White, pointing out the luscious illustrations by John Minton.

For White, antiquarian booksellers such as Stewart bring together not only an eye for the elegant and the sophisticated but a real understanding of the importance of history in the printed world. “And often, it’s taking a brave stance and seeing the value in what was considered pornographic,” he says.

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