Out of the 500 first-edition Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone copies printed in an initial run on June 26, 1997, there are approximately 200 hardback copies in private ownership that feature crucial typos making them highly sought-after by collectors. One of those copies, with “philosophers” misspelled on the back cover and”one wand” repeated on page 53, will now be sold at Christie’s “The Art of
Literature: Loan and Selling” Exhibition in London at a starting bid of £200,000 GBP (approximately $ 250,000 USD).
This particular hardcopy has also been signed by author J.K. Rowling. The last time a first-edition Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone went to auction — with bidding starting
at $75,000 USD — the book was sold for a staggering $471,000 USD to become “the most expensive commercially published 20th-century work of fiction ever sold,” according to Heritage Auctions executive VP Joe Maddalena.
“In many ways, this book is the physical manifestation of a magic memory for so many people and that’s what makes it so desirable,” commented Christie’s exhibition co-curator Mark Wiltshire.
Christie’s “The Art of Literature” event will open to the public from June
7-15 in London. More information can be found here.
St James’s Places
8 King Street St. James’s
London SW1Y 6QT,
United Kingdom
In other news, Tate Liverpool presents “Radical Landscapes.”
LOS ANGELES, Dec 9 (Reuters) - A first edition of "Harry Potter" sold for $471,000 in the United States on Thursday in what the auctioneers said was a world record price for a 2Oth century work of fiction.
The hardback 1997 British edition of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," with a color illustration on the cover, was described by Heritage Auctions as "magical, incredibly bright and so very near pristine."
The book was published in the United States as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."
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The Dallas-based auction house said only 500 copies with the specific binding were printed. The final price was more than six times the pre-sale estimate of $70,000.
Previous auction prices for Harry Potter first editions have
ranged from about $110,000 to $138,000.
"Not only is it the most expensive Harry Potter book ever sold, it’s the most expensive commercially published 20th-century work of fiction ever sold," Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena said in a statement.
The book was sold by an American collector and the name of the buyer was not released.
British author J.K. Rowling went on to write
six more books about the adventures of the orphaned boy wizard that have sold some 500 million copies worldwide in 80 languages, according to U.S. publisher Scholastic. The books were turned into eight films which made $7.8 billion at the global box office.
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Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Lisa Shumaker
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The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
First Edition Points and Criteria for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (U.S.)
Year Published: 1998
Author Last Name: Rowling
Author First Name: J.K.
Publisher:
Scholastic Press
Original Price: $16.95
Pages: 309
The copyright page has the full number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 8 9/9 0/0 01 02". Below the number line is "Printed in the U.S.A. 23", and below that is "First American edition, October 1998." Boards are purple with an embossed diamond pattern, and a red cloth spine. The dust jacket has a $16.95 price on the
upper corner of the front flap. The dust jacket back has a cream/light yellow bar code field with two bar codes in it, and the smaller bar code says "51695". The dust jacket back also has a single quote from the Guardian saying "Harry Potter could assume the near-legendary status of Ronald Dahl's Charlie, of chocolate factory fame." Later issue dust jackets have a substitute quote from Publishers Weekly. The top spine of both the book and the dust jacket lists "J.K. ROWLING" and lacks the "YEAR
1" badge, and the gold lettering is raised on the spine of the dust jacket.
Note: There are book club editions that have the same full number line as the true first U.S. edition. But they lack the embossed diamond pattern on the book boards. A book club edition is far less valuable than the true first U.S. edition.
Picture of the 1998 first edition dust jacket for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (U.S.).
Picture of the first edition copyright page for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (U.S.).
Picture of dust jacket where original $16.95 price is found for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (U.S.).
Picture of the back dust jacket for the first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (U.S.).
Boards are purple with an embossed diamond pattern, and a red spine. The book club edition has plain boards which lack the embossed diamond pattern.
On the back of the dust jacket, there is a single quote on the top from the Guardian in London saying "Harry Potter could assume the near-legendary status of Ronald Dahl's Charlie,
of chocolate factory fame." On the bottom left there is a cream/light yellow bar code field with two bar codes in it, and the smaller bar code says "51695".
The true first edition dust jacket has "J.K." on the
spine.
The true first edition dust jacket has "J.K." on the spine like the one on the right. The "J.K." was removed in early printings like the one in the middle. "Year 1" was added to
later printings like the one on the left.
These are the bar codes from (top to bottom) the first printing, the 11th printing, the 21st printing, and the 39th printing. The bar code is the same until the
price is changed somewhere between the 11th and 21st printings. The bar code background and price is changed in much later printings.
This is the front cover of the Advance Reader's Edition, which is a softcover.
This is the copyright page from the Advance Reader's Edition. It is slightly different than the first edition. It states the text copyright as 1998 rather than 1997, and Bloomsbury for permissions rather than Scholastic. It
also lists the ISBN for the paperback edition (0-590-35342-X).
This is the back of the Advance Reader's Edition. It states that the first printing will be 30,000
copies.
This is the spine of the Advance Reader's Edition. It has "J.K. ROWLING" just as the first edition does.
This is the table of contents from the Advance Reader's Edition. The page numbers have not been
set.
The Advance Reader's Edition included a note from the publisher, Arthur A. Levine, who makes a very insightful prediction: "I predict you'll also face another quandary; whether to share this [book] with a
friend, or to keep it for yourself, knowing how much this Reader's Edition of J.K. Rowling's first book will be worth in years to come."
Some of the sixth printings had plain boards (on the top) instead
of the normal embossed diamond pattern (underneath).
Other first edition points for books by J.K. Rowling include: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and
the Prisoner of Azkaban (U.S.), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (U.S.), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (U.S.), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (U.S.),
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (U.S.), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (U.S.), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and
the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets.
How do you tell if Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is first edition?
'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' (US title)
"US first editions will have the number line of '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 8 9/9 0/0 01 02,' on the copyright page along with 'Printed in the U.S.A.23' and 'First American edition, October 1998. ' Prices for later editions in good condition are in three figures."
How much is a first edition Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone paperback worth?
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
The main characteristics of a 1997 first edition first issue are a print line that reads 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 and the crediting of "Joanne Rowling", not JK. Prices on AbeBooks vary from $40,000 to $55,000. A handful of advance proof copies are available from $7,500 to $13,500. '
How much is a first American edition Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Worth?
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (book 1 - US)
Prices for first edition first printings go up to around $6,500 with a fair selection between $4,000 and $5,000 - many signed by the author - although cheaper copies can be found.
Which Harry Potter first editions are worth money?
The hardcover first edition printings of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book in the series, are valuable among collectors, according to AbeBooks. Only 500 were published - 300 of which went to libraries.