$1,999.99!

In early 2007 I posted about the $836.00 winning bid for Peter Zumthor Works on ebay. At that time sellers on Amazon.com were asking $974.73 for the first edition (red cover) of Thinking Architecture, another highly-prized, out-of-print title by the Swiss architect. But now that Mr. Zumthor has won the Pritzker Prize, the price of that slim volume has changed...dramatically. As of last night two sellers are vying for collectors of first editions, with only one penny separating the two:


[not sure why the author is "Princeton Arch Staff", given that the publisher is Lars Muller and the author is, obviously, Peter Zumthor.]

I held on to Thinking Architecture, even after wondering a couple years ago if I should sell my copy for close to a grand and then go see some Zumthor buildings in person. These prices make me think I made the right decision, but on second thought I don't think the title will fetch two grand. Will somebody really pay that much for this first edition? More specifically, will architects -- really the only audience for the book -- pay that much? Not likely.