Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | 1997, first edition, one of only 200 examples. £110,000

Bayliss Rare Books are delighted to present an excellent example of one of the rarest and most sought after books in the world.

Only 500 examples of the first edition of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone were published, making this a genuinely scarce title. Of the 500, 300 were sent to libraries and 200 to bookshops. This is one of the rarer 200.

The present example has only had one previous owner and can be traced back to Blackwells Bookshop. This is the first time this edition has entered the market which is, at this stage, is almost unheard of.

This copy has received no restoration (which most copies have), making it all the rarer and presents excellently as near-fine to fine.

This first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone has all the requisite first issue points:

Printing number line: [hidden information]; Wendy Cooling blurb to the front board; 'wand' appears twice on page 53; 'Philosopher's' is mis-spelt 'Philospher's' to the back board and; 'Wizardry and Witchcraft' [rather than Witchcraft and Wizardry'] to the back board; Joanne Rowling" for "J.K. Rowling", and lastly and "Thomas Taylor1997" (lacking the space) on the copyright page.

Provenance: One previous owner, whose name is inscribed to the front free endpaper, whose mother bought the book at Blackwell's Bookshop in 1997

First edition, first impression, one of only 500 examples. Publisher's pictorial boards illustrated by Thomas Taylor, with yellow, black, and white lettering, young wizard to rear panel. The boards have received no restoration. Previous ownership inscription to the front free endpaper. Minor wear to the edges but presents as a near-fine example with no sunning to the spine as is common. Internally this is a fine example, certainly the best I have ever seen.

Published by Bloomsbury, Oxford, 1997.