First-Edition ‘Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone’ Copy Sells For $90,000 Despite Typos

How many wands did Harry actually need?

Do you have an old copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone? You may want to double-check if it is a first-edition book with several typos. One truly special copy of the beloved J.K. Rowling novel has just sold for $90,000.

A first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone went up for sale at the auction house Bonhams. The book, with its numerous typos, sold for £68,812 (US$89,910) although it was initially estimated at £40,000 to £60,000 (US$51,914 to US$77,860). The copy is one of the first 500 books that was published by Bloomsbury in 1997.

The rare book misspells the word ‘Philosopher’s’ on the back cover.

Perhaps the most awesome thing about the first-edition book is that it has several typos. For instance, the word “Philosopher’s” is spelled as “Philospher’s” in the back cover.

Another notable typo is the duplicated “1 wand” in the list of equipment needed by a young sorcerer. After all, you only need one wand to properly cast a spell unless you’re trying to show off.

The copy sold at Bonhams originally belonged to J.K. Rowling’s literary agent Christopher Little. He was lucky enough to have been given one of the 500 copies from the flawed batch.

Another interesting feature on the book is the mysterious wizard on the back cover. He doesn’t look like any of the Harry Potter characters and has previously left readers baffled.

In case you were wondering, the wizard was illustrated by artist Thomas Taylor. The illustrator admitted that the wizard isn’t a Harry Potter character and was simply his own drawing of his father as a sorcerer. Unfortunately, the wizard has since been replaced by Albus Dumbledore in the next copies.

The book would later be adapted into a successful film franchise.

The first-edition copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone were printed by Bloomsbury in 1997. If you happen to have one of these rare books, you might want to consider selling your copy for around $90,000.