The first edition of Harry Potter, which was stored in a cupboard for years, is selling for £55,000 – after being bought for a tenner from a charity shop
A first edition hardback copy of a Harry Potter book has sold for a whopping £55,000 after being bought for just a tenner in 1997.
A copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was discovered in a bargain bin in the Scottish Highlands by a 58-year-old local woman 26 years ago, and was auctioned by Hansons on December 11 this year.
The book came without a dust jacket and was therefore initially sold to the woman for a reduced price of £10. It ended up on a remote Scottish peninsula
She left it in a cupboard under the stairs for years, like the novel’s title character, but it remained in pristine condition, unlike other originals that often perish in children’s backpacks.
The forgotten treasure eventually went under the hammer Hansons Auctioneers, where it was sold to a private UK online buyer.
Pictured on the left is Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and the text on the right. Hanson’s book expert Jim Spencer stands in the center, holding up the prized copy
The delighted seller heard about the fantasy series after reading one of JK Rowling’s first interviews in national newspaper The Scotsman in the late 1990s.
The recently retired third sector manager explained that she bought the book with minimal knowledge of the series, before it became a bestseller and global hit.
She said: ‘I bought the Harry Potter book before anyone really knew much about it, or the author. I found it on a family caravan trip through the highlands of Scotland.
‘I discovered a bookshop cafe on a remote peninsula after driving for miles along a single-track road in the northwest of Scotland.
‘I immediately recognized the distinctive book cover. The bookseller had placed it in a wicker basket on the floor.
Since it didn’t have a dust jacket, I got a few quid off the price. Our two children enjoyed the wizard story as a bedtime story throughout the holidays in 1997.’
Hansons Auctioneers claim that the first book in the series is the rarest and most valuable – essentially gold dust for collectors.
That’s what book expert Jim Spencer said: ‘It’s a great result for a great find. This was a genuine, honest first edition and a fantastically well-preserved copy. It was new to the market and deserved to be running at full speed, just like the Hogwarts Express.
First edition of Harry Potter for a bargain £10 and selling for an astonishing amount
The book was purchased for a lower price in the Scottish Highlands because it came without a dust jacket
‘Of the 500 first printed hardbacks, 300 went to schools and libraries to reach a wider audience. This is one of the scarce 200 that have gone to the bookstore.’
Jim explained that the copies are becoming increasingly difficult to find, and that the seller’s copies “one of the few remaining examples that has been in private hands since its purchase in 1997.’
The bookseller noted that many first editions of the book are seriously worn, especially if they are ex-library copies, but noted that this version was in good condition.
He ended: ‘It’s amazing that it ended up on a remote Scottish peninsula, and it was all thanks to an article in The Scotsman – and perhaps a touch of magic – that prompted the curious and very lucky buyer to retrieve it from the bargain bin to pick.’ .