Sotheby's Hawking First Editions by Copernicus, Galileo, Newton

If you've got a few million bucks lying around, Sotheby's has a different kind of status symbol in mind. Its New York showroom is displaying three scientific blockbusters ahead of a Tuesday auction: first editions by Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, and Isaac Newton that collectively reshaped how humans understand the cosmos, reports the New York Times. Copernicus' 1543 work placing the sun at the center of the solar system carries a top estimate of $1 million, and the full "Reason and Revolution" sale could hit $7 million.

Galileo's "Starry Messenger" and Newton's "Principia" are also on offer and can be handled by visitors—no gloves required, just clean hands. "You can look at these things online," says Richard Austin, Sotheby's global head of books and manuscripts. "But it's a very different experience when you hold them in your hands and say, 'This is a book that changed our understanding of the universe.'" While scholars worry about such books vanishing into private libraries, historians note that they often drift back to museums and universities over time. Sotheby's plans a second such sale in December, with works focused on the birth of America, notes Fine Books Magazine.