Rare Harry Potter book could fetch thousands at auction – here's what to look for to see if you have a first edition

The soft cover first edition goes under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers on September 9, at The Lichfield Auction Centre, Wood End Lane, Fradley Park.

Jane Thompson-Webb, from Erdington, Birmingham, bought the book brand new in 1997 for around £3.50 – it was priced £4.99 but minus a 30 per cent staff discount.

“I bought it for myself while I was working in Ottakar’s Bookshop in Birmingham,” she said. “When the first Harry Potter was released we reviewed it for an in-house newsletter.

“I was 27 at the time and bought it because I wanted to read it – I’ve always read children’s stories. I remember people coming to buy the book before Christmas. But what’s really vivid is how many parents with young boys came in after Christmas, with the boys asking when the next book was coming out because they wanted to read the next story. That book got boys reading.”

Jane remains a Harry Potter fan and keeps hardback copies of all the series. She said her first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has ‘been sitting quite happily on my bookshelf’ for the past 20-plus years.

Jane, conservation manager for Birmingham Museums Trust, decided to send it to auction following a clear-out at home.

Auctioneer Richard Winterton said: “This is an exceptional copy and we anticipate a huge amount of interest at auction.

“If you think you have a first edition of the book – either in soft cover or hard cover – there are certain vital things to look out for.

“I go straight to the back cover, where there should be a letter ‘o’ missing from the word philosopher’s. It reads ‘Acclaim for Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone’. It also refers to ‘Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft’ – this was later swapped round to ‘Witchcraft and Wizardry’.

“Check that the publisher is Bloomsbury and the latest date listed in the copyright information is 1997. The print line on the copyright page should read “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1” and in the copyright information for the cover illustration of Thomas Taylor 1997, there is no gap between his surname and the date: ‘Taylor1997’.

“Like all early printings of the title, it also credits text copyright to Joanne Rowling. Another good one to spot is on page 53, which features a list of school supplies Harry receives from Hogwarts. The item ‘1 wand’ appears twice, at the start and again at the end.

“We have estimated this book at £3,000 to £3,500 but hope it could get to the £5,000 because the condition is stunning.”

The catalogue for the September 9 auction can be viewed a week before the sale via richardwinterton.co.uk/auction-dates.

Viewing in person takes place by appointment on Friday, September 6, and on sale day people can bid online, in the room or by prior arranged telephone bid.

In July 2023, an ultra-rare hardback copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone went under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers for a hammer price of £10,500.

Bought for 30p after being withdrawn from Wolverhampton Library, the book – one of only 500 first edition first impressions and, of those, one of only 300 sent to libraries – attracted international interest, with the winning bid placed over the internet from Los Angeles.