An untouched copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone that has been preserved in pristine condition in a loft for almost three decades is expected to sell for £10,000 at auction.
The scarce first edition – which originally retailed for just £4.99 when it hit shelves in 1997 – has been described as “the finest example ever to come to market”. The paperback was sent to Katrina McNichol, who was employed as a book reviewer for a magazine in the Scottish Highlands during the late 1990s.
Then 24 years old, Katrina never found time to read the novel and it ended up in a storage container. Katrina discovered the “time capsule” book while sorting through her loft at her current residence in Edinburgh and immediately recognised its worth. It is now expected to fetch between £7,000 and £10,000 when it goes under the hammer at Rare Book Auctions this week.
Katrina, now 53, said: “Each week I received more than 20 titles to review and it was impossible to feature them all. I’ve never quite known why I set this particular book aside, long before the Harry Potter phenomenon began, but I carried it with me from home to home with dozens of others and I’m so glad that I did.
View 4 ImagesDirector of Rare Book Auctions, Jim Spencer, with the rare pristine condition of a first edition, first issue copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone(Image: Rare Book Auctions/SWNS)
“I genuinely forgot it existed. When I came across it in a box 30 years later, I did a double-take.
“It felt surreal. I knew how old it was and suspected it might be worth something.
“You don’t expect to stumble across something so valuable in your own attic. The book deserves to be with someone who truly appreciates what it is, a small but genuine piece of publishing history.”
Katrina was working in the Scottish Highlands when she came across the book. Given that it is one of the first editions printed, it contains a number of errors – making it an even more sought-after collector’s item.
When J.K. Rowling’s debut novel first hit the shelves, Bloomsbury anticipated little demand and printed just 500 hardbacks and a little over 5,000 paperbacks – making both editions extraordinarily rare.
View 4 ImagesThe book was kept unread in a loft for almost 30 years, guaranteeing a condition rare in paperbacks(Image: Rare Book Auctions/SWNS)
Jim Spencer, director of Rare Book Auctions, said: “This is the best example I’ve ever handled – and I’ve handled a few.
“Many were passed among friends, squished inside school rucksacks, splashed with orange squash, and scribbled with doodles, but this example has been perfectly preserved in a time capsule. It is as good as the day it was made.”
The scarce paperback also features all the telltale hallmarks of an authentic first edition, first issue, so highly prized by collectors.
Jim said: “The first quirk to look out for is the missing ‘o’ in the word ‘philosopher’s’ on the back cover.
“It also refers to ‘Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft’, which was later changed to ‘Witchcraft and Wizardry’.”
View 4 ImagesThe back cover has two telltale mistakes(Image: Rare Book Auctions/SWNS)
On page 53, a list of school supplies Harry receives from Hogwarts refers to item ‘1 wand’ twice – at the start and again at the end, he added.
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Jim, a Harry Potter book expert, added: “This is an exceptionally rare opportunity for Potterheads to bid for perhaps the finest example ever to come onto the market. It simply couldn’t be any better than this.”
The volume is being auctioned online by Lichfield-based Rare Book Auctions, part of Hansons Auctioneers, with bidding closing on May 20.