J K Rowling Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone : Scarce Third Printing : Fine Copy

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Written by Joanne ‘JK’ Rowling

Published by Bloomsbury, London, 1997. First Edition / Third Impression. Number Code 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3. On the copyright page there is with no space between Thomas Taylor and year 1997. Hardback book in original dust jacket (this was the very first Harry Potter book to be published with a dust jacket). Cover art by Thomas Taylor.

Phillip Errington, in his book 'JK Rowling - A Bibliography 1997-2013' [p.4] states that the 3rd impression saw a print run of just 500 copies, whilst 1000 copies of the 2nd impression were printed. The 3rd printing is therefore more scarce than 2nd.  

The third impression of Philosopher's Stone was the first Harry Potter book issued with a dust jacket. The other notable differences to the second printing are: The text at the bottom of the cover, which changed from a quote by Wendy Cooling to “Winner of the 1997 Smarties Gold Award” and ; the blurb on the back has been changed from review quotes to a short teaser of the story.  

In 2021, a new auction record was set by a first impression hardback of the Philosopher’s Stone (500 printed), achieving £356,000 ($421,000). In turn, the values of second impressions are now achieving 5-figure sums.

CONDITION
A very good copy of the third impression. The dust jacket remains unclipped and with no tears. The boards and spine are very good. No names or inscriptions. Pages good throughout with usual light even age-toning to the outer margins. An exceptionally fine copy of the third printing of the UK Bloomsbury first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

(Location : Glass Cabinet 3)