First edition Harry Potter book sells for $90,000, typos and all
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone has sold over 120 million copies worldwide till date.
(Web Desk) – Rare first edition of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ which was released in 1998 with 500 copies was sold for £68,812 at an auction.
It has sold over 120 million copies worldwide.
According to DesignTAXI, it far exceeds its estimated valuation of £40,000 to £60,000.
The first edition of the book is a fascinating historical record when compared to the scale of the global franchise it would go on to spawn. It contains a couple of typos including one on its rear cover where “Philosopher’s” is misspelled as “Philosopher s,” and another where a list of equipment includes a repeated line. It’s an inauspicious start to what would go on to become one of the best-selling books of all time.
Although it’s not exclusive to the first edition of the book, this copy also features a bizarre illustration on its back cover of a wizard who never appears in any of the Harry Potter books. It later turned out the illustrator, for whom the book was his first ever commission, never actually read it prior to doing the drawing. The image was eventually replaced with a picture of Albus Dumbledore.
Unfortunately, if you’ve also got a first edition copy of the book, then it’s unlikely to be as valuable as this copy, which was signed by JK Rowling herself back in 2003 in advance of it being sold at a charity auction.
