In the UK, a copy of the first edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling, lying for 26 years in a cupboard under the stairs, was sold at auction, reports the Derbyshire Times.
The book was sold on December 11 at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire for £55,100. For many years it was cared for by a 58-year-old resident who bought it in 1997 while on a trip with her family. In-store, the children's book was in the discount basket and sold for just £10.
"I bought a Harry Potter book when no one knew about it or its author. We were traveling by car in the Scottish Highlands. There was a cafe-bookstore on a distant peninsula at the end of the road," says the woman. She also noted that she was able to negotiate the book for eight pounds because it had no outer cover. During the trip, the British woman read a fairy tale to her children every night. Later, the book was put away in a closet, where it was kept until recently.
The book has been preserved in excellent condition. A specialist at Hansons Auctioneers has revealed that this is a very rare hardcover first edition of JK Rowling's first Harry Potter novel. A total of 500 books were printed, 300 of them were distributed to libraries, and only 200 were put on sale.
Currently, only 19 books in this series are known to collectors. They were sold at auction for sums ranging from £17,500 to £69,000. It was previously reported that librarian Janet Tuckwell decided to sell first editions of Harry Potter books autographed by the author. The woman received the signatures of JK Rowling in 1999 when she worked as a teacher and took her children to meet the writer. /BGNES
