This comprehensive article will help you establish whether you have a first edition Harry Potter on your hands. If you do have a first edition and are interested in selling it, please contact us on our Sell To Uspage.
J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide, and first editions of her books have very quickly become collectable. By far the most valuable book in the series is the first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published on 30 June 1997 by Bloomsbury in London.
But to have any real collectable value, it has to be a copy of the first edition, first impression (also known as the first printing). This means the very first batch of books off the press, of which there were only a few thousand. Reprints of Philosopher’s Stone (and even first editions of the later books in the series) have much lower values, in part because so many more of them were printed.
Harry Potter first edition, softcover issue
First, what do the books look like? The first printing was bound in two different ways. The rarest is the hardback issue, with a cover of laminated boards. Only 500 copies were bound this way, and 300 of those were sent to libraries. Because library books receive so much wear and tear we are left with only 200 copies in potentially fine collectable condition, and these rarely appear on the market. The other binding was a regular paperback of which a few thousand copies were produced for sale.
Next , how do you tell whether your copy, which may look very similar to the one pictured above, is really a valuable first edition?
To be a first edition, in either hard or soft cover, there are four very important issue points, all of which your book must have:
1. The publisher must be listed as Bloomsbury at the bottom of the title page. See photo below:
2. The latest date listed in the copyright information must be 1997.
3. The print line on the copyright page must read “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”, ten down to one, exactly. The lowest figure in the print line indicates the printing. (For instance, if your copy has “20 19 18 17”, it’s a less valuable seventeenth printing.)
First edition number line.
You may have been told that you have a first printing if the copyright is in the name of “Joanne Rowling”, but that’s not true. All early printings of this title have the same copyright statement.
This is what the whole back of the title page should look like:
Back of title page in the first edition of Harry Potter.
4. On page 53, in the list of school supplies that Harry receives from Hogwarts, the item “1 wand” must appear twice, once at the beginning and once at the end. This mistake was corrected in the second printing of the book (although it re-appeared in some later printings).
Mistake on page 53.
5. On the back cover there is a missing “o” in “Philospher’s Stone”.
Philosopher’s spelled as Philospher’s with the missing “o”.
If your book meets all these requirements then congratulations, you have a first edition! Depending on the binding and condition, it could be worth anywhere from many hundreds to tens of thousands of pounds. If you’re interested in selling it, or would like to have a custom protective box made to house it, then please contact us. To see the Harry Potter books we currently have for sale please click here.
Chamber of Secrets must have been published in 1998 by Bloomsbury with no mention of subsequent edition, publisher, or later date on the copyright page, and have a printing number sequence of “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”.
Chamber of Secrets first edition copyright page
Prisoner of Azkaban must have been published in 1999 by Bloomsbury with no mention of subsequent edition, publisher, or later date on the copyright page, and have a printing number sequence of “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”. The most valuable copies are the first issue, which must have “Joanne Rowling” as the author instead of “J. K. Rowling” on the copyright page, and a dropped line of text on page 7.
The last four titles in the series, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows, must have the words “First Edition” printed on the copyright page. The print run for the first edition of all of the last four titles was very large, and as a result, even first edition copies in the dust jackets in fine condition are fairly commonly found, and not presently of high value. We are currently interested in acquiring signed copies only of these titles.
The magic and wonder of Christmas for many readers starts with the classic Christmas tales that we read as children and the adaptations of those stories that we see on our television screens every year. However, it is with classic children’s Christmas books that we first find much of the imagery and many of the traditions that we have come to associate with the festive season.
Walt Disney, The Night Before Christmas, 1934
Indeed, it is perhaps in celebration of these beloved Christmas stories, full of presents and treats and delights, that so many of the best-loved examples of children’s literature are essentially Christmas stories. For many children, Christmas is what creates a sense of magic and wonder in their imaginations and, through gifting, helps to instil a love for great books.
Does this help to explain the extraordinary longevity and emotive freshness of so many Christmas books? How is it that Raymond Briggs’s The Snowman or Father Christmas command such a special place not only with children but our own nostalgia for this time of year? Why is it that the opening lines of Clement Clarke Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas fill us with such warmth? We delight in the brash antics and uncouthness of the Grinch, and Dr.Seuss’s illustrations for How the Grinch Stole Christmas are every bit as iconic as the classic image of Santa Claus; a naughty, impish counterpart to the gentle, kindly figure of Father Christmas.
Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 1957
You cannot mention Santa Claus without bringing up his most famous and beloved compatriot Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Noticeably absent from the roll call of magic reindeer named in Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, Rudolph is a later addition who quite literally outshone Comet, Dasher, Blitzen and company. In 1939, Robert L. May wrote a little story for an in-store Christmas promotional giveaway. The department store was called Montgomery Ward: the story was called Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Two and a half million copies were distributed that year alone, when in 1949 Johnny Marks wrote the famous song about the reindeer who saved Christmas.
The first printing of the Rudolph sheet music inscribed “Dear Marlin, Merry Christmas, Johnny Marks.”
While Robert L. May is responsible for creating Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; where does our modern conception of Santa Claus come from? The image of the jolly Saint Nick with his sack full of gifts, arriving on Christmas Eve on his sleigh drawn by flying reindeer owes much to Clement Clarke Moore’s, A Visit from St. Nicholas. When it comes to Christmas there is arguably no more memorable line than: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Not only was this poem largely responsible for many of the conceptions regarding Santa Clause from the nineteenth century on, but it also had a massive influence on popularising the tradition of gift-giving at Christmas.
A Christmas Carol is without question the most famous and well-regarded Christmas story of them all and the story of Ebenezar Scrooge’s redemption and turn toward good has been adapted countless times with both the Muppets and the Flintstones, among other children’s favourites, offering their versions of the classic Christmas tale. While not written as a story for children, Charles Dickens’s novel, much sought after by collectors, has become such an enduring classic that it has transcended its original shape to become a story for all ages celebrated and retold again and again each year.
A Christmas Carol, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, 1915
By 1947 the modern conception of Santa Claus that we have become familiar with was almost fully formed. The white beard, red clothes, reindeer with sleigh festooned with toys. This modern depiction owes much to Valentine Davies’s screenplay and subsequent novelization for Miracle on 34th Street. Davies wrote a 120-page novella after completing the screenplay for the original 1947 film which went on to be adapted multiple times most notably by John Hughes in 1994.
Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street, 1947
Many of our favourite Christmas stories are films, however, a vast majority of these Christmas films on based on or inspired by early books and short stories. The most notable example of this is It’s a Wonderful Life, the beloved classic starring James Stewart. Based on the short story, The Greatest Gift, by Philip Van Doren Stern, originally self-published as a booklet in 1943 before being published as a book in December 1944, with illustrations by Rafaello Busoni. The story itself was loosely based on A Christmas Carol and owes much to Dickens’s original work.
Other great Christmas stories continued regularly to be written, published, animated and filmed. New classics like Raymond Briggs’s 1978 book and, still astounding, animated masterpiece, The Snowman. A tear-jerking and beautiful tragedy that manages to celebrate the joy and magic of a boyhood dreamscape, the wonder in a child’s heart at the glory of those special days—friendship and love and togetherness—and yet hides none of the bitter sorrow and sadness which mark the passing of years, the loss of fleeting moments. Those who were with us once but are missing now. The Snowman was one of those creations which seemed timeless and eternal from the very start.
Raymond Briggs, The Snowman, 1978
Every year studios big and small put out Christmas movies good and not so good, and every so often a diamond emerges from the glistening paste. One such masterpiece which, like The Snowman, seemed timeless from the get go, was The Polar Express. The film was nominated for 3 Oscars but the 1985 book by Chris Van Allsburg, upon which the film was based, had gone one better having won the prestigious Caldecott medal for best children’s illustrated book of the year. The Polar Express exemplifies perfectly that quality which links so many of these enduring publications and the motion pictures that walk with them hand in hand. The quality of wonder, of magic, of the purity of childhood faith. It ends:
“At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed it fell silent for all of them. Though I have grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe,”
The Railway Series Pre-Cut Model Engine Book No. 2 – Percy with Clarabel the Coach.
Update (14 May, 2012): Reader Justin A. Olsen has kindly replied to our request for additional information on these models; you can read his comments here. We’re still interested in purchasing the two models we don’t have, Thomas and James, so please contact us if you have any you’re willing to part with.
Can you help? We recently acquired two lovely items from W. Awdry’s The Railway Series. These “Pre-Cut Model Engine Books” each contain a story and the parts and instructions for making two toys out of card. We have Number 2: Percy with Clarabel the Coach and Number 3: Gordon the Big Engine & His Tender (click to enlarge the images):
Percy Pre-Cut Model.
Percy Pre-Cut Model Instructions.
I believe these were produced in the late 1950s, as The Eight Famous Engines, the final story book listed on the back of each volume, was published in 1957. Four different titles in the pre-cut model series are described as being available (with more in production), and we would love to know more about these and possibly locate copies of the other two, Thomas the Tank Engine and James the Red Engine.
Please do get in touch if you know more about these sets and their sales records, and especially if you have copies to sell. You can leave a comment on this post or contact us by email or phone.
Below, a few more photos of the model books. If you have a good printer you could even construct them yourself!
Clarabel Pre-Cut Model.
Percy & Clarabel Story.
The Railway Series Pre-Cut Model Engine Book No.3 – Gordon the Big Engine & His Tender.
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