The first edition of ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’, the first book in the Harry Potter series with yellowed and tattered bookshelves, was sold at an auction in the UK for 33 million won.
According to foreign media such as the British Daily The Times on the 3rd (local time), the hardcover first edition of JK Rowling’s novel Harry Potter series, ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’, recently uploaded to British auction house Ryan & Turnbull, sold for 20,160 pounds (approximately 33 million won). ) was sold to
Holly Hogart, 34, a mother of two living in Glasgow, England, received this book as a gift from her cousin 26 years ago. The plastic cover protecting the book was peeled off, and the spine of the book fell off, and the bookcase turned yellow. It is also said that some pages are in poor condition, with graffiti on them.
Nevertheless, the reason why this book was able to sell at such a high price is that this book is the first hardcover edition with only 500 copies printed. About 300 of these are estimated to have been distributed to local libraries.
“I was shocked when this book sold for over £2m at auction,” Hogart said.
“This book was loved a lot,” he said. “I lent this book to my schoolmates in 2000, and the book returned to me after wandering around the dormitory for a while. At that time, the book was already worn out,” he explained.
According to Sotheby’s, a London auction house, the authenticity of the first edition can be confirmed by the serial number ’10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1′ and the repeated misspelling ‘1 wand’ on page 53 of the book. .
Sotheby’s has set a price of more than £50,000 (about 80 million won) for the first edition of Harry Potter in good condition.
Hogart confirmed to several auction houses that the book was a first edition. Ryan & Turnbull published this book in an auction catalog last September, and an American won the auction at an auction held in February this year.
Hogart had about 15,000 pounds (about 25 million won) left after paying the auction fee. With the money, he delivered a small gift to his cousin, who gifted the book to him more than 20 years ago, and revealed that he plans to travel Europe on a Disney cruise ship with his two and four-year-old children.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.