A rare first edition discovering the Harry Potter books, while kids who watched the movies as they came out are now nostalgic adults who recently enjoyed seeing the original stars reunite for HBO Max's anniversary special.
Still, Warner Bros. seems to be looking to expand the Harry Potter franchise further. Despite J.K. Rowling's numerous transphobic comments, the company's new CEO reportedly has plans to meet with her about more Harry Potter content. There were also reports in January 2021 that a TV show based on the franchise was in development, however, there have been no substantial updates on that since. The news was met with a mixed response, with some excited about the idea of more Harry Potter and others worried a potential show might wind up disappointing them or further tarnish the original book series.
Now, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is going up for private sale, starting at around $250,000. The book is one of only 500 similar copies and is signed by Rowling. According to Mark Wiltshire, the co-curator of the Christie's exhibition the book is a part of, the word "philosopher" is misspelled on the back cover. Additionally, the list of equipment Hagrid gives Hary before they go to Diagon Alley contains an error, with "wand" appearing twice.
Though it's hard to know now how much the rare Harry Potter book will fetch, a similar first edition wound up going for $471,000 in late 2021. This made it the most expensive commercially published work of fiction in the 20th century ever sold. It stands to reason that the Harry Potter first edition newly up for sale will do similar numbers.
Unfortunately, owning the rare book is financially impossible for the average reader of the series. It seems likely it will go to a collector of some kind who will hopefully preserve it for generations to come. It will be interesting to see how much they're willing to pay for this unique piece of Harry Potter history.
Source: Reuters
