There may be nothing more magical than Harry Potter — but stumbling into a huge pile of cash certainly comes close.
A rare first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first book in the beloved series, is expected to fetch up to $43,000 (AUD) at a UK auction this November.
The book isn’t signed. It’s not in mint condition. In fact, the book actually holds one very small flaw.
On page 53 of this particular version, the item of “1 wand” is repeated twice in Harry’s list of Hogwarts school supplies. It’s believed there are 500 first editions of the book containing this rather lucrative typo.
Matthew Haley of Bonhams’ Head of Books and Manuscripts — the English auction house where the book will be sold — told The Independent the iconic status of J.K. Rowling’s series justified its fanfare.
“As the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has a special place in the affections of the millions of readers across the world,” he said.
“The proof reading error about the wand in the first edition has, of course, become a treasured piece of Harry Potter arcana.”
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This is not the first time a copy of Harry Potter has caught the eye of auctioneers.
According to AbeBooks, a hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published by Bloomsbury and featuring Harry standing at the front of the Hogwarts express, could be worth up to AU $76,000.
A first-edition Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in hardback could also bring up to AU$12,500.
What are you waiting for? Pull out the box of books and remember… PAGE 53!
Featured image: Warner Bros
Top Comments
You need to be careful with this - there are actually multiple editions of the book with this typo. Only the first 500 copies (all hardcover) are worth this much. They were printed in Great Britain, and as it was a first edition and (at the time) not expected to sell well, most ended up in public libraries and are now already in the hands of collectors.
As a side note, my copy of The Prisoner of Azkaban is worth about $150 - I've got an early printing, hardcover, with the dust jacket. The key to copies that are worth money are the numbers printed on the page with the publication details; these indicate which printing the book is from. First printings will have 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, second 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2, etc. Anything after Goblet of Fire isn't worth much as they were printed in such huge numbers.
I know far too much about Harry Potter books.
Hey, don't sweat if. I'm still waiting for my Owl Post too. :o)