The world’s oldest book in a private collection, known as the Crosby-Schoyen Codex, and one of the earliest books in existence, was sold at auction in London on Tuesday for over £3 million.
The codex, which contains the earliest complete copies of the Biblical texts of Jonah and Peter’s first epistle, was previously owned by Norwegian businessman and rare book collector Martin Schoyen.
Bidding at Christie’s auction house began at £1.7 million, attracting both online and in-person bidders. The codex ultimately sold for £3,065,000 ($3,898,000) including taxes, to an anonymous phone bidder.
The codex was discovered by Egyptian farmers in the 1950s.
It was originally copied by a monk in what is now Egypt around the fourth century AD, making it at least 1,600 years old and significantly older than other renowned ancient texts such as the Gutenberg Bible, which dates from the 1450s.
Written in Coptic script on double-sided papyrus leaves now preserved between plexiglass plates, the codex represents an advance in written technology at a time when single-sided scrolls were more common.
Alongside this literary treasure, twelve additional select pieces from the Schoyen Collection were also auctioned.
The entire collection comprises over 20,000 pieces, spanning 5,000 years of history from 3,500 BC to the present day.
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