A Harry Potter book bought for 13p at a second-hand book shop 27 years ago could make £12,000 at auction.
The scarce Uncorrected Proof Copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was a ‘throw-in’ with a couple of other books. Together they cost the lucky owner 40p in 1997.
It’s so special it will go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers on February 26 with a guide price of £12,000-£16,000. The firm’s world-renowned Potter expert Jim Spencer has only ever come across one other book like it. It achieved a premium inclusive total of £18,750 in 2023.
The 52-year-old seller, who originates from London but now lives in Bologna, Italy, said: “In 1997, when I was 26, I had just got back to the UK and was living in Crystal Palace in London. I didn’t have much money but I always liked to treat myself to a browse round second-hand bookshops on Saturday mornings.
“I dropped into one of my usual haunts, one of the second-hand bookshops just off the main road in Crystal Palace, looking for some Agatha Christies. Piles of books were all jumbled up in baskets on the floor with a maximum price of 40p.
“The Harry Potter book was among the piles – maybe even by accident – as all the rest were Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh etc, as far as I remember. I bought it as a throw-in with a couple of other titles – 40p for all three. I don’t think I even looked at it properly to tell the truth.
“Since then, it’s followed me round to China, Taiwan, the UK and now Italy being packed and unpacked – without being read. It ended up stuck behind a shelf in my bedroom until, for no good reason again other than the fact my kids were turning into Harry Potter fans, I went looking for it. Even the kids haven’t read it – there are four of them aged from 12 to 25. They always unfortunately – or fortunately in this case – preferred the films.
HARRY POTTER FIRST EDITION BEING SOLD FOR RSPCA
“I was bored one night and scrolling on the internet when a story popped up about the incredible prices achieved for Potter books, so I decided to contact Jim Spencer to see whether my book might be valuable. Finding it when I did was just a massive piece of well-timed luck for which I will always be grateful and more than a tad surprised.”
Jim Spencer said: “This book has a story all of its own. It’s lived all over the world and cost pennies, not even 40p. As it was sold with two other books it actually cost about 13p. The previous Uncorrected Proof Copy I discovered went to a school library. I am not sure how this one ended up in a London second-hand book shop but you have to remember this was before the first Potter book had even been printed.
“This proof copy is where the Harry Potter phenomenon began. This is the very first appearance in print of the first Potter novel. The title page mistakenly states the author’s name as as ‘J A Rowling’ instead of ‘J K Rowling and, on the other side, ‘Joanne Rowling’. The author’s signing tours, the midnight queues outside bookshops, the movies, the merchandise – it all stems from this.”
Auction: The Harry Potter book, lot 2, will be offered in Hansons Auctioneers’ February 26 Bishton Hall Library Auction in Staffordshire, England.
Catalogue/bidding: www.hansonslive.co.uk | www.the-saleroom.com
Enquiries: [email protected]
