Fortunas maximus! Mini Potter sells at £125,000
GREAT things come in small packages – including a tiny version of the first Harry Potter book.
Now the 31-page leather-bound miniature of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone is being sold for £125,000 – more than 11 times the price it fetched at a charity auction 17 years ago.
JK Rowling’s hand-written and illustrated book measuring just 1.5in by 2.5in sold for £11,000 in 2004.
Pom Harrington, of London-based rare book dealer Peter Harrington, said it was the smallest book they have offered for sale.
He said: “The Rowling miniature is an extraordinarily unique item, and perhaps the ultimate one-of-akind acquisition for those collecting Harry Potter and associated works.
“Rowling’s keepsakes and mementos are very rare. She’s been so careful not to release much material like this, only a handful have gone to market.”
At the time, 25 such miniatures were produced containing manuscripts contributed by stars in various fields including Muhammad
Ali, Margaret Thatcher, Madonna and Sir Paul McCartney. The proceeds of their sales went to the 999 Club, a homeless charity in Deptford, south London. JK Rowling’s contribution contains the passage where Harry and Hagrid go to London to buy school supplies for Hogwarts. Her original drawings of equipment include quills, scales, a cauldron and a wizard’s hat.
The first page reads “From Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone from me” and Rowling has signed her name. To date, the title has sold over 120million copies worldwide since it was first published in 1997.