A rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, gifted by J.K. Rowling’s first literary agent to a close friend has fetched nearly £80,000 at auction.
The 1997 hardback, priced £10.99 on the back cover, was one of only 500 produced in the initial print run.
Rowling’s agent, Christopher Little, gifted it to a friend, who rediscovered it in almost pristine condition, still unread, on her bookshelf after 27 years.
The book went under the hammer at Bonhams’ in London, where it was sold to a collector for £79,140.
Simon Roberts, Bonhams’ Senior Specialist, Books, said: “This was J.K. Rowling’s debut novel and the first appearance of the character Harry Potter.
“This one stands out as it was sent by Rowling’s agent Christopher Little to a close friend shortly after publication in 1997.
“At that time, nobody could have predicted what a phenomenon Harry Potter would turn out to be. To find one in such good condition as this one is very rare indeed.”
The children’s classic was the first of Ms Rowling’s novels about the boy wizard and was written largely in cafes in Edinburgh.
Little was responsible for selling the rights to Bloomsbury in 1996, and continued as Ms Rowling’s agent until 2011. Rare first edition copies are now sought after by collectors around the world.
Copies from the first run named the author as “Joanne Rowling” instead of J.K. as in later versions.
The book also features the highly sought after “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1” on the publisher’s imprint page, together with the duplication of “1 wand” on the equipment list on page 53 and the misspelt “Philospher’s” on the back cover, which was later corrected.
