Sotheby's to auction the books that rewrote our place in the universe

Sotheby’s will hold ‘Reason and Revolution: Extraordinary Works from a Distinguished Private Collection. Part 1’ in New York on 20 October 2026 at 10:00 AM EDT.

At its centre is Nicolaus Copernicus’ ‘De revolutionibus orbium coelestium’ (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), published as a first edition in Nuremberg in 1543. Sotheby’s has estimated the book at $700,000 - $1,000,000.

Its argument remains stark. In the 1543 work, Copernicus set out a heliocentric theory in which Earth rotates on its axis and orbits the sun, rather than standing still at the centre of the universe.

The sale also includes Johannes Kepler’s first edition of ‘Astronomia nova aitiologitos’, published in Prague or Heidelberg in 1609 and bound in contemporary vellum. It carries an estimate of $400,000 - 600,000.

Galileo Galilei’s ‘Sidereus nuncius’, published in Venice in 1610 as a first edition, is described as a foundation of modern astronomy.

Isaac Newton is represented by an autograph manuscript worksheet from Cambridge, probably May 1694.

The collection reaches further back, to Euclid’s ‘Praeclarissimus Liber Elementorum in Artem Geometrie’, published in Venice by Ratdolt on 25 May 1482. It was the first edition of the first substantial mathematical work to appear in print.

Also included is Andreas Cellarius’ brilliantly handcolored ‘Harmonia macrocosmica seu atlas universalis et novus’, published in Amsterdam by Jan Jansson in 1661.

Sotheby’s said the auction features original, centuries-old works by innovative and inspiring scientists.