JK Rowling’s first edition copy of the first book, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, was sold for $85,118 in March. On Friday (16.12.2022), an unknown edition was sold at an auction. A decade ago, the 15th-anniversary edition of the Harry Potter series was rolled out exclusively for 15 competition winners. The edition was signed by author Rowling.
Publisher Bloomsbury announced a nationwide competition, in 2012, in search of the UK’s “biggest Harry Potter fan”, allowing entries to make their case in 50 words. A 16-year-old Chloe Esslemont won the exclusive edition.
At the age of 26, Esslemont decided to sell her most precious possession for $9,723.20 at an auction in the UK.
Esslemont said, “I’ve kept the book wrapped up in the attic for years. Everyone was Potter mad when I was at school. I dressed up as Hermione for World Book Day and my Nan knitted me a Gryffindor scarf.”
“I still like the Potter books, but I won this prize 10 years ago. It’s been gathering dust and the money would be useful now”, she added.
The rarest Harry Potter edition
Hansons Auctioneers, a seller of rare books with a special interest in the Harry Potter rare editions, sold the special edition.
Jim Spencer, Hansons’ book expert, says “this book is unique”. The Hansons website stated, “Technically, this is the rarest Harry Potter book I have ever handled — and I have assessed hundreds.” The original 500 copies of “The Philosopher’s Stone” that rolled out in 1997 are considered the most valuable; Jim Spencer discovered 18 and sold one almost perfect for $85, 118. He said, “This new find is particularly scarce”.
The first 15 books were exclusively published to mark Potter’s 15th anniversary and were sold publicly, Spencer said he “traveled from the Midlands to Cumbria, right on the border of Scotland, to collect it.”
The special edition is sold at a lower price than the first edition, regardless of being scarce.
Before the sale, Spencer said, “The value is completely unknown. I haven’t found another one for sale, or have sold, anywhere. I don’t even think there’s even a picture of one online.”
In December 2021, the Harry Potter first edition was sold for $471,000 at a bidding war in Dallas.
Joe Maddalena, Heritage Auctions’ executive vice president, said “And not only is the most expensive Harry Potter book ever sold, but it’s also the most expensive commercially published 20th-century work of fiction ever sold. This result shows the power of that combination of literature and cinema.”
Harry Potter almost didn’t roll out
Before Bloomsbury published 500 copies of “Harry Potter: The Philosopher’s Stone”, it was rejected by many publishers. Many of these ended up on shelves of public libraries, making it impossible to identify the first edition copies.
It wasn’t long until the main character’s name became a common name. Since then, more than 120 million copies have been sold.
Though the few first editions are still considered to be highly prized, one leather-bound edition out of the 15 copies that were published in 2012 is also now a part of the same club.
