'Philsopher's Stone'
Auction of first edition of 'Philosopher's Stone' sets new record
October 25, 2007 at 11:08 AM ET
Geri
Yahoo! News (via Guardian Unlimited)
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A rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone sold
at a Christie's auction today for a record £19,700 ($40,355.88). The book, one of 500 copies, was in excellent condition and was only read once.
According to Crispin Jackson, head of books at Christie's South Kensington, the book is the most valuable one in the series:
From Goblet of Fire onwards, the series took off so quickly that first editions were common because the print runs were huge. The collecting buzz started with Prisoner of Azkaban in 1999 and while the market slightly dipped before the publication of Deathly Hallows, it has picked up again with the conclusion of the series and the huge success of the films.
A proof copy of the book containing a printing error on the title page was sold for £2,250 ($4,610.46).