A first edition copy of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ has been sold in America for $81,250 (£60,186), more than 6,000 times its original £10.99 price tag, setting a new world record for an unsigned work of fiction.
The novel is one of 500 first editions of the novel published by Bloomsbury in 1997, Independent reported.
The book, the first in the seven-part series of Harry Potter books, was kept in pristine condition by a private UK collector. It was sold in Dallas, Texas, by rare book specialists Heritage Auctions.
“We have sold great Harry Potter titles - not to mention chairs - in the past, but we never really paid attention to such a thing as a world record,” Heritage Auctions Rare Books Director James Gannon said, The Scotsman reports.
“This recent copy of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ surpassed the earlier record of approximately $60,000 by more than 30%. It very well may be the highest price obtained at auction for any unsigned work of literature published in the past 50 years.
There is a huge group of people searching for one for their collection and it is really a phenomenon rather just a book. It has all the weight of J.K. Rowling’s celebrity behind it,” he added.
Harry Potter is a series of fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends. The main story concerns Harry’s struggle against Lord Voldemort, a dark wizard who intends to rule the wizard’s community.
Since the release of the first novel, the books have found immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. They have attracted a wide adult audience as well as younger readers.
As of May 2013, the books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into 73 languages including Persian.
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