Sworders Books & Maps Department are excited to offer a rare paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The first edition, first impression printing of JK Rowling’s debut novel is expected to bring £2,000-3,000 as part of our 19-28 April timed online Books & Maps auction.
11 April 2024
VIEW AUCTION REQUEST A VALUATION CONTACT A SPECIALIST
The story of J K Rowling writing her first Harry Potter book in Edinburgh coffee shops after her teaching contract expired is well-known. Rejected by more than a dozen publishers, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was finally published by Bloomsbury in June 1997; 500 hardback copies were produced, of which some 300 were sent to schools and libraries. In addition, 5,150 paperback copies were released simultaneously. They both used the same sheets so 5,650 sheets made up the two versions.
J K Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone First Edition, First Impression. (£2,000-3,000)
It is relatively common for original impressions to contain a number of idiosyncratic characteristics and the first Harry Potter book is no different; it called J K Rowling by her first name, Joanne and on page 53 the list of Other Equipment duplicates 1 wand in the list of requirements to enter Hogwarts. In addition, on the back cover the title is misspelled Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone and they also contain several other quirks on the imprint page including an incorrect number sequence number and no gap between Taylor and 1997. The binding was used for the first two impressions.
The magic of Harry Potter continues to cast a spell over today’s new readers as much as it does for the original devotees and with an estimate of £2,000-3,000 we expect to conjure up considerable interest for this first edition which features in our timed Books and Maps sale, running from 19 to 28 April.
rarebooks@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778
A major highlight of our forthcoming Dreams – A Unique Private Collection sale on 9 July is a remarkable archive of letters and manuscripts by John Ruskin (1819–1900), the celebrated Victorian polymath. This unparalleled group – numbering in the hundreds – is believed to be the largest collection of Ruskin correspondence in private hands and spans a vast range of topics from art and architecture to politics, religion, and personal reflection.
2 July 2025
'The Scented Garden of Abdullah the Satirist of Shiraz' - also known as 'The Bagh-i-Muattar' - quickly caught the attention of our book specialists, when a copy bound in full vellum was brought in by a local client to our weekly valuation day.
2 July 2025
We are thrilled to launch The Glass Sale - a brand-new addition to our auction calendar! The inaugural sale will take place on Tuesday 28 October and will become a biannual fixture in our calendar going forward.
20 June 2025