Set of signed Potter Books expected to bring £25,000
July 16, 2003 at 3:08 PM ET
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Godric's Hollow (via This Is Wiltshire)
Dominic Winter Book Auctions in Maxwell Street will be auctioning off
a set of signed first editions of the first four Potter books for £25,000. According to Winter's first editions valuer and cataloguer Philip Best, "It is unheard of to have a signed set like this, and I don't think anyone has sold as nice a set as this." He also added, "We have had a first edition of the first book on its own before and that was sold for £13,500."
The books were won by a family from the south of England in a recent national newspaper competition. They decided to sell when they took the books to be insured by Lloyds.
They were advised by the insurance firm to take them to Dominic Winter, which is put-ting Swindon on the map as a leading venue for such sales.
Normally, an unsigned first edition of the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone from 1997, could be expected to sell for up to £15,000, while a similar copy of the 1998 follow-up, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, might raise £1,000.
Rowling is not a prolific signer of books, and even a copy of the fourth book is worth as much as £250 with her signature.
The books will be sold next Wednesday in an auction of books, maps and ephemera.
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