Anyone who knows me how much I love the Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling.
I fell in love with the wizarding world in my 30s and it’s what really got me into reading properly. I’d read a handful of books before that but I was working for a publishing house at the time, I wasn’t short of books to read. I had heard people talking about Harry Potter and I thought, let’s see what the fuss is about.
I do like the film but I love the books, my favourite is Prisoner of Azkaban but I will read the books at least once a year. My daughter’s favourite film is Goblet of Fire.
I have a number of Harry Potter printed editions, eBooks and even the MinaLima editions too but I had thought about how great it would be to have some Harry Potter first editions to add to my collection.
The idea isn’t to resell them, as a fan, I wanted to see what I could find.
It’s well documented that Harry Potter first editions, especially Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (also known as the sorcerer’s stone for the US edition) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, sell for thousand’s on eBay or at an auction house. The chances of me ever owning any of these rare Harry Potter books is pretty unrealistic.
As someone who loves going to a car boot sale, I thought it would be a good idea to keep an eye out. After all, you never know.
Spotting a Harry Potter first edition copy
From what I can find online, there were only 500 copies of the first print run of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone printed in Hardback, 300 of which were sent to libraries, which makes this title incredibly scarce, and raises it value. To give you an idea, once recently sold for around 53,000 Euros (around £45,000)! Here’s the article if you would like to have a read. Imagine what must have been going through the owner’s mind when they realised their Harry Potter first edition was such a valuable book? Presumably, the book would need to be in excellent condition to command a high sale price. I’d imagine first editions of the first book with the author’s signature would greatly increase the value of the book.
Hansons Auctioneers have an article on the website where someone bought the Harry Potter first edition for £10, this edition went up for auction with Hanson’s auctioneers in December 2023 and the hammer price was sold for a total price, with premium, of £55,104 to a private UK online buyer.
The book will have the ‘first edition’ on the copyright page and the print number should end with a number ‘1’. These are the best indications of being in possession of a first edition.
Some of the earlier editions have the author’s name as Joanne Rowling, the later editions will display the name J.K. Rowling.
The later books in the series were mass printed copies of Harry Potter so there will be a lot more Harry Potter first editions than the first two in the series.
What did I find?
For Bank Holiday Monday in August, I thought I would check out the local car boot sale to see what I could find.
What are the chances of finding a genuine Harry Potter first edition? with a dust jacket? and in good condition?
I didn’t go with any expectations but I did find two hardback copies.
I found Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for £5 in hardback with it’s dust jacket.
I also found Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for £5 in hardback with it’s dust jacket.
Both books are in really good condition.
I know other Harry Potter fans have found books in a bargain bin, jumble sale, Car boot box and even in a box of unwanted things.
What’s the misprint in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
A good example of a misprint is for this book is on page 99 of the book. It states ‘eleven outstanding O.W.L.s’ where it should be ‘ten outstanding O.W.L.s’. It was nice to know the book has this misprint.
If you want to see how I got on, here’s a video to my YouTube channel with much more detail.
Conclusion
I guess if you’re ever out and about and looking in the bargain bucket, charity shop or car boot sale and come across an edition of Harry Potter, just have a look at the copyright page. It will only take moments and you could potentially have a rare book on your hands. For some, it’s a rare piece of literary history.
If you’d like to know more, I suggest checking out expert Jim Spencer, Director of Rare Book Auctions as in recent years ‘Jim has carved an international reputation for his finds and is renowned as a Harry Potter expert. So far, he’s found 19 rare hardback first issues of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Only 500 were printed in 1997. The top Potter price achieved so far is £69,000.’ If you think you have a similar Harry Potter first edition, it may be worth getting in touch with him potentially helping you discover you copy’s true value.
Plus I love buying books second-hand, it’s a great way to save money and it’s better for the environment.
