The three major English language editions of the Harry Potter books are published by Bloomsbury (UK), Scholastic (US) and Raincoast (Canada). The books were printed in a number of forms including hardcover, softcover, and later adult and deluxe editions. Anniversary editions with changed cover art were released in 2007.
Philosopher’s Stone
J. K. Rowling’s first book about the boy wizard was published on July 1, 1997, and a signed hardcover first edition is the Holy Grail of Harry Potter books. With a print run of only 500 (300 of which went to libraries) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the rarest of the seven books. The first UK edition is credited to Joanne Rowling (not J.K.) and has a print line reading 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1.
Hardcover copies have been known to sell for as much as $55,000. A soft cover copy recently sold in Dallas, TX for $19,120 and included an illustrated card signed by author. In 1998, Scholastic released 30,000 copies of the book in the United States with the altered title of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. First editions have the line “Printed in the U.S.A.23” and “First American Edition, October 1998”. Autographed copies are available, as J.K.’s first US book tour coincided with the release of Sorcerer’s Stone.
Chamber of Secrets
When Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was issued in 1998, Jo Rowling was very much into book tours and signings, so more signed first editions are available. Therefore, a hard cover first edition will generally go for around $9,000 while soft covers will command three figures. Many ardent American fans bought these editions on-line when they could not wait for the US version to be released in 1999.
Prisoner of Azkaban
The prize to watch for in the hardcover first editions of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the name Joanne Rowling appearing on the copyright page. When the error was discovered the run was stopped and the name changed to J. K. Rowling before the 500,000 run was finished. Signed copies of this gem have gone for $12,000. The author was still doing a lot of tours and signings but autographed copies, particularly deluxe editions, can go for $5,000. J.K. did a three week tour of the US in October shortly after the release of the American edition.
Goblet of Fire
By the time Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published in 2000, Jo Rowling did only a four day tour of England and therefore fewer signed books are available. This drives the price of autographed copies up and so while first editions of Goblet of Fire run to over 5 million copies, signed copies command a premium. Two small ‘textbooks’ were published in March, 2001 - Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Order of the Phoenix
Finally, in June 2003, book five was released in the UK and US. With an initial print run of almost 6.5 million copies in the US alone, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix tops them all for length with 870 pages. The major signing event was in Edinburgh in 2003 and books from then are in the four figure range.
Half-Blood Prince
By July 2005 and the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, signings were rare and the few available go for around $5000. The print run of over 10 million copies assures that editions of this book will never be of great monetary value.
Deathly Hallows
The last book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released in July 2007, and every book signed by J. K. Rowling has a holographic sticker of authenticity attached. Again, a huge print run makes this book easily available with the exception of the hard to find signed editions. The deluxe edition is a treat for collectors as it includes reproductions of Mary Grand Pre’s art, a foil stamped slipcase and full-colour endpapers with art from the trade edition. In October, after a seven year absence Jo made another North American tour.
A word of caution, this article is just a quick over view of Harry Potter books. Before spending large sums of money, do more research, check out websites specializing in selling books and autographs. Buy what you like not what you think will make you the most money. For more information see Collecting First Editions.
For more collecting information see Collecting Harry Potter on Stamps and Collecting Harry Potter Lego
Bibliography
Harry Potter Collector's Handbook - William Silvester - Krause Publications - to be published September 2010
William Silvester - Most of Bill's writing over the past few years has been for the philatelic press and consists primarily of columns and articles about the ...
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