Condemned and destroyed by the Church, only five copies of the Necronomicon are known to exist today, although an unknown number of copies may still be held in private collections. Copies that reach the open market are usually purchased by libraries or private collectors who appreciate the book only for its rarity, or possibly for its blasphemous nature and wicked reputation. The resultant increase in value has driven the price beyond the range of most serious students of the occult. Few can afford to obtain their own copies of this dark and powerful book, and, given the value and fragile conditions of the existing copies, few public institutions allow unrestricted access.

The documented extant copies are all Latin versions, four from the surreptitious 17th-century Spanish printing and the fifth a single surviving specimen of the fine 16th-century German edition. The four remnants of the edition printed in Spain are presently held in the collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the Miskatonic University Library in Arkham, the Widener Library at Harvard, and the library of the University of Buenos Aires. The precious single copy of the edition printed in Germany resides in the British Museum in London.

Although the last known copy in Greek is believed to have perished in flames during the chaos of the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts, rumors of other Greek copies occasionally surface. The most recent of these claimed that a copy was owned by the New York artist Richard Upton Pickman. If true, the book apparently disappeared along with the artist in 1926.

Handmade copies of the Dee version, most of them damaged and incomplete, are still occasionally unearthed. The most recent find was made by Miskatonic University, which now has a nearly complete Dee Necronomicon in its enviable collection. The decidedly less rare Sussex Manuscript also can be found in Miskatonic's collection and in many other large libraries as well. It is generally believed that no copies of the Arabic original have survived to the present day, although persistent rumors suggest that a copy surfaced in San Francisco shortly before the disastrous earthquake and fire of 1906. The claim that an Arabic copy is part of the collection in the British Museum has been recently disproved.
 

Physical Descriptions

All known printed editions of the Necronomicon are folio-sized. The Latin editions printed in Spain and Germany alike measure 18 by 11-1/2 inches and contain 802 pages, one leaf being bound in as a tabbed insert. Records suggest that the Greek version was several pages longer. The type style is black-letter gothic, and numerous woodcuts illustrate the text. Bindings, as with all books of this period, are individual, reflecting the tastes of the books' original owners. (Until the mid-19th century most books came from printers unbound, wrapped in paper.)

The Necronomicon found in the British Museum is in a 15th-century leather binding still in fair condition. Printed in Germany, the text is in good condition but lamentably lacks seven different leaves, each cut away and removed with great care. This volume was among the three libraries of books bequeathed to the people of England which led to the founding of the British Museum in 1753.

The copy found in the Bibliotheque Nationale is in poor condition, bound in the cheap, crumbling pasteboards common to the era. The text is in similarly bad condition, with many torn pages and several pages missing altogether. Other pages are indecipherable, badly stained by what some identify as blood. The acquisition of the book is shrouded in mystery, the volume deposited at the front desk in 1811 by a furtive man of foreign caste. The mysterious donor was found a day later in a rat-infested apartment, a victim of poison.

The University of Buenos Aires' copy is said to have come to South America in the late 17th century. Although the text is in only fair condition, it is unique for its odd marginal notes, written in unknown glyphs.

The Widener Library at Harvard contains a Necronomicon of poor condition. Its binding is original, but badly cracked and split. The text is complete but many pages have separated and others are crumbling. Restoration efforts are underway. The book was part of the library of Harry Elkins Widener, American millionaire, and it is said that he obtained the volume shortly before he boarded the Titanic in 1912. 

The copy at Miskatonic University was obtained late in the last century by a young Dr. Armitage, then only recently hired by the school. Purchased from the private collection of Providence businessman Whipple Phillips, the Miskatonic's edition of the Necronomicon was rebound, probably in the early 18th century, in sumach-tanned goatskin. A false title, Qanoon-e-Islam, is embossed in gold on the front cover. The text is complete and in fair to good condition.