SMU to Host Religious Texts Exhibit That Includes Most Valuable Book in the World

On Monday, SMU's Bridwell Library began the installation of a new exhibit, the centerpiece of which will be the world's most valuable book.

The Codex Sassoon is the earliest, most complete Hebrew Bible. It's 1,100 years old.

"Older texts, many times, have greater importance because there's a connection to that past," SMU Bridwell Library Director Anthony Elia said. "It's also believed to be the most valuable book in the world at this point, depending on what it fetches at auction at Sotheby's in May."

The Codex Sassoon is expected to sell at auction for between $30 million and $50 million. It is coming from Tel Aviv to be part of the SMU exhibit, which is the only university in the world to host the exhibit.

Other rare religious texts that are part of the collection will be on exhibit with the Codex Sassoon at SMU Bridwell Library in Dallas.

"So the St. John's Bible was made in Collegeville, Minnesota," said Elia, looking at a large-scale Bible that is just over a decade old.

Other rare pieces in the library's collection are centuries old, like a Torah scroll from China.

"It's important because it was part of the cultural heritage of the Jewish communities in China at that time and is no longer there."

Other books on display include a Gutenberg Bible and Catholicon.

"This is Gutenberg's Catholicon," Bridwell Library Conservator Jesse Hunt said. "So this is the second book he ever printed after the Gutenberg Bible and it's extremely rare."

The exhibit called Codex Fest is free and open to the public with reservations from Tuesday, April 18 through Thursday, April 20, 2023.