One of the first editions of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” from 1997 fetched a record amount at auction. Several bidders had pushed the price up.
Dallas – According to the auction house, a rare first edition of the first Harry Potter volume achieved a record price at an auction in the USA.
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” from 1997 was auctioned for $ 471,000 on Thursday, Heritage Auctions in Dallas announced on Twitter. This is the world’s highest price for a Harry Potter book and a record for a commercially published fictional work of the 20th century, it said.
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— Heritage Auctions (@HeritageAuction) December 8, 2021
Several bidders had raised the price for the rare book from $ 75,000 at the beginning of the auction. In the end, a telephone bidder won the bid. Initially, nothing was known about the buyer.
One of the most successful books in the world
The first volume “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by the British author Joanne K. Rowling was published in 1997 with only 500 copies by the English publishing house Bloomsbury. Most of the editions were intended for libraries in Great Britain.
With more than 500 million copies sold, the Harry Potter series about the battle of a wizard boy with dark forces is one of the most successful books in the world. Children and young people, but also many adults, have devoured the seven novels in more than 80 languages. dpa
