World’s Most Expensive Written Manuscript

Giacomo Casanova, the world’s greatest lover, may have been Venetian, but it was the French government who, in early 2010, paid top dollar for the licentious libertine’s manuscript. Casanova wrote of his adventures from 1789 to his death in 1798, during which time he was employed as the librarian to Count Waldstein in the Castle of Dux, Bohemia. The manuscript, “Histoire de mi vie” or “History of my Life,” allegedly details his conquest over more than 100 women—at least one of which was a nun—and several men. Unfortunately, the general public has only seen censored and otherwise altered versions of the account.