J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. [London]: Bloomsbury, [1997]. . ...

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A Fine Copy of the Exceedingly Rare First Edition in the Publisher's Original Pictorial Wrappers

J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. [London]: Bloomsbury, [1997].

First edition, with all first issue points including "Joanne Rowling" and "Thomas Taylor1997" on copyright page, along with the complete number sequence "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1". Twelvemo. 223 pages.

This, the first book in the Harry Potter series, was issued simultaneously in both hardcover and softcover. This softcover copy is in the original pictorial wrappers, now protected by a Mylar cover. The pages have toned as is common with this title, otherwise the binding is tight and seemingly unread. A fine copy of this most popular title.

Very rare indeed. Reputedly only 300 hardcover and 200 softcover copies of Rowling's first book were printed, nearly all of these went to schools and libraries. Considering that many of Rowling's later books were printed in first edition runs numbered in the millions, the rarity of this volume coupled with the empire that it spawned is extraordinarily significant.