Magic price for Potter

A SIGNED first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has fetched $185,000 at auction.

The novel smashed its $52,000 estimate at Bonhams auction house in London yesterday.

The inscription, dated only a month after the book was published on June 26, 1997, is dedicated to the author’s friend and her family: “For Meera, Donnie, Nastassia and Kai, with lots of love from Jo (also known as J.K. Rowling).”

The previous record for a first edition of the book, the first in the series, was $105,000 set earlier this year.