Three first editions sold for almost £100,000 at Lyon & Turnbull’s Rare Book, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs auction yesterday (Wednesday 19 June).
An exceptionally rare hardback first edition of J.K. Rowling’s debut novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone went for £45,201.
Rowling’s first book in her bestselling series about a boy wizard was famously written in Edinburgh when the author was a hard-up single mother.
Much of the novel was written in a local cafe as the author’s baby slept.
Only 500 first edition hardcovers were printed in 1997 thanks to publisher Bloomsbury’s uncertainty about whether or not the book would prove popular. It went on to sell more than 120 million copies, making it one of the bestselling books in history.
According to Cathy Marsden, Head of Books & Manuscripts at Lyon & Turnbull, around 300 copies were said to have gone to public libraries. “They were much read and are often found to be in fairly tired condition if they have survived at all. A further 200 copies were sold through retailers.”
In the same auction, a signed first edition of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, published in 1952 and the first novel in his bestselling James Bond series, sold for £38,951.
Fleming’s inscription, which contains a grammatical error, was to his friend and boss at Kemsley Newspapers (owner of the Sunday Times), Ion Smeaton Munro (1883-1970).
Munro, who was of Scottish origin, was a much-decorated army officer who served in both world wars.
The inscription reads: To I.S.M, who’s [sic] staunch keeping of the night watches freed the author for this extra-mural opus, Ian Fleming, April 1953.
A copy of A.A. Milne’s When We Were Very Young, which features the first ever appearance of Milne’s much-loved bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, also sold for £15,120 in the sale.
Ms Marsden added: “We are delighted with the results of today’s auction, which show the strength of modern first editions in today’s market.
“Works by literary giants, such as Ian Fleming and J.K. Rowling, continue to prove very popular at auction and I hope that these books are much enjoyed and treasured in their new homes.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
