Rare Potter book could be ‘most pristine’ ever offered at auction
Owner nearly returned £12.99 book which could sell for £100k+
A pristine first edition of the most valuable Harry Potter book ever published could smash all records at auction — but things could have been very different for its owner from Sussex.
The find was purchased by a West Sussex book collector in 1997. It has been kept in darkness — unread, unopened and in a protective sleeve — for 25 years.
Experts predict the ‘as-good-as-new’ hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, one of only 500 in the first Potter book print run in 1997, could reach £100,000 or more when it goes under the hammer with Hansons Auctioneers on March 9.
The dream book almost slipped through its owner’s fingers. He nearly returned it to the shop where he bought it from and contemplated asking for his moneyback—£12.99—because he thought it had a fatal flaw.
“It didn’t have a dust jacket and I thought it should,” said the seller, 68, who chose to remain anonymous. He pre-ordered the book from Leatherhead Bookworm in Surrey in 1997.
“I was really disappointed when I went to pick it up.
“I’m a collector and, being a first edition, I expected it to have one. I decided to keep the book on the toss of a coin. It was a moment of destiny.”
Years later, he discovered that Philosopher’s Stone hardback first issues do not come with a dust jacket — so his copy was as good as it possibly could be.
The retired paper merchant director from West Sussex said: “Leatherhead Bookworm, one of those magical old books shops, no longer exists but I still hear from the man who sold me the book.
“He likes to remind me that I nearly had my money back just because it didn’ t have a slip cover. I remember standing in the doorway debating whether to keep it. I took it home and tucked it away in darkness on a high book shelf to keep it from prying eyes but, more importantly, because the paper in the book is poor quality.”
The owner was told to keep the book away from sunlight ‘to prevent it going brown’.
“I bought that first issue of Philosopher’s Stone because I noticed an advert for it in a magazine called Bookseller in 1997,” he said.
“It compared JK Rowling’s book to the Famous Five novels and predicted it could be a prize winner.
“I loved reading Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books when I was a child — and I liked them to have a dust jacket.
“I’ve really looked after it. It’s in the best condition it possibly can be — almost perfect I would say.”
The book has never been read.
“A year after I bought it, with Harry Potter excitement growing at my daughter’s school, she asked if she could read it,” the owner said.
“I said no, absolutely not. “Instead, I bought her another copy and a later issue of The Chamber of Secrets— both in the Harry Potter Gift Set slipcase. By that time, I’ d also acquired a mint first issue of Chamber of Secrets, which I am also auctioning.
“My daughter’s copy of Philosopher’ s Stone was a fourth issue — with a dust jacket. So, I put that on my first edition to protect it and tucked it away together with my Chamber of Secrets first edition, also protected by the slipcase. They have always been kept separate from my main books collection and hidden in the house.”
In December 2021, a nearpristine harback first edition sold for $471,000 (£349,186) at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, USA – a modern literature world record.
Charles Hanson, owner of
Hans ons Auctioneers, said :“Our guide price is £40,000-£60,000, roughly the same as the estimate put on the book sold in Dallas. “I’d like to think our copy could achieve £100,000 — or, better still, smash the world record.”
“It’s in fantastic, bright condition. It should spark interest from collectors all over the world. It could well be the most pristine hardback first issue of Philosopher’s Stone ever offered at auction.