First edition of "Harry Potter" goes to auction
The book up for sale contains handwritten annotations by J.K. Rowling with commentary and the film adaptation of the story, as well as 22 hand-drawn illustrations, including one showing Harry as a sleeping baby; bids could exceed US$30.
Reuters Can you imagine what was going through JK Rowling's mind when she wrote the first story about the young wizard Harry Potter?
Fans of the book series will have the chance to bid on a unique first edition of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" annotated by the author during a charity auction this month, the British organization PEN said late Friday.
The book that will be sold contains handwritten annotations by Rowling with comments on the book and the film adaptation of the story, as well as 22 hand-drawn illustrations, including one showing Harry as a sleeping baby and another of Hogwarts professor Albus Dumbledore.
The edition includes a 43-page segment written by the author with phrases such as "I wrote the book... it took hours of work, in cafes or in the middle of the night. For me, the story of how I wrote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is invisibly written on every page, readable only by me..."
The book will be one of 51 first editions annotated by authors that will be auctioned on May 21, and will include "Bridget Jones's Diary" by Helen Fielding, "Northern Lights" by Philip Pullman, and "Matilda" by Roald Dahl.
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was first published in 1997 and is the rarest book in the series, as only 500 copies were printed.
In October 2007, a first edition of the book sold for £19.700 (approximately $30), and the auction at Sotheby's in London is expected to see higher prices for annotated copies.