A rare first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, featuring several printing errors, has fetched £302,000 at auction in Dallas, Texas, equivalent to around Tk4.92 crore. The sale price was about four times the book’s pre-auction estimate of £75,000.
The 1997 hardback was one of only 500 copies printed in the first edition of JK Rowling’s debut novel. According to The Business Standard’s report, its unusual printing mistakes helped make it a prized item among collectors.
One error appears on page 53, where “one wand” appears twice in a list of items Harry needs for Hogwarts. The author’s name appears as “Joanne Rowling”, while the back cover misspells “Philosopher’s” as “Philospher’s”.
Of the 500 hardback copies, 300 went to schools and libraries. The remaining 200 were distributed among Rowling’s friends, reviewers and other acquaintances.
Heritage Auctions sold the copy in Dallas. A spokesperson for the auction house said the hardback remained exceptionally rare because only 500 copies were produced, chiefly for public libraries.
Francis Wahlgren, Heritage Auctions’ international director of rare books and manuscripts, said the novel continued to attract collectors. He also suggested that the upcoming television adaptation could bring a new generation of buyers to the book.
The sale did not break the record for a first-edition Harry Potter book. That mark stands at £356,000, set at an auction in Dallas in December 2021.
Worldwide sales of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone have exceeded 120 million copies.
Meanwhile, the BBC is preparing a two-part documentary about Rowling, examining her rise to fame and her cultural influence. The programme will trace her journey from a struggling single mother in Edinburgh, Scotland, to the creator of one of the world’s best-selling book series.
The first episode will explore her childhood and literary breakthrough. It will also revisit the story of how the idea for Harry Potter came to her in 1990 while she waited for a delayed train travelling to London’s King’s Cross station.
The franchise later expanded into several sequel books, a stage production and a blockbuster film series starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
Rowling, 61, whose full name is Joanne Rowling, also wrote Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which inspired a separate film series. HBO is developing a new television adaptation of the original Harry Potter books.
