In a chaotic year unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, books have remained a stabilizing force in my life: they can both calm and intrigue, bring challenge and joy. Here are 15 of my favorite rare books I sold at my company Type Punch Matrix amid the ups and downs of a difficult year.

This is the 1817 third edition of Austen’s best loved novel, the first edition printed in two volumes (as opposed to the three volumes of previous editions) ...