WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s book collection fetched more than $2.35 million at an auction on Thursday, with one valued book fetching more than $100,000.
Ginsburg, a women’s rights leader, and a social figure known to many as “RBG,” died of pancreatic cancer in 2020. Her death left a vacancy on the Supreme Court, which was filled by Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett just before the 2020 election.
Last week, Ginsburg’s personal library was put up for auction, with bidding closing Thursday noon, the very same day current Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement.
According to auction house Bonhams, the sale included numerous books, photographs, and memorabilia from Ginsburg’s personal library, including textbooks from her time as a law student and books that she and her spouse, Marty Ginsburg, had loved during their marriage.
Ginsburg’s edition of the 1957-58 Harvard Law Review, which went for $100,312.50, was one of the objects up for auction, according to Bonhams.
Ginsburg’s annotations can be found throughout the Harvard Law Review tome, which she worked on herself. Her name, “Ruth B. Ginsburg,” is likewise etched in gilt on the book’s spine.
In a description of the book, Bonhams noted, “The year Ginsburg spent on the Harvard Law Review was also the year her husband Martin was diagnosed with cancer and underwent two surgeries and radiation therapy, making the excellence of her work that much more impressive.”
According to Bonhams, Ginsburg’s private copy about her own accumulated speeches and writings, which was specifically made for her by Simon & Schuster, sold for over $81,000.
Catherine Williamson, an expert of rare manuscripts and books at Bonhams, said Ginsburg’s huge collection drew bids “beyond our wildest dreams” in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.
Williamson estimated the auction to be worth between $300,000 and $500,000. She was astounded to learn that the winning bids totaled more than $2.3 million.
According to the expert, every single one of the 166 available lots sold at the bidding, making it a “white glove” sale.
