Harry Potter first edition book sells for £36k

Christine McCulloch had watched author JK Rowling being interviewed on Blue Peter with her son, Adam, and daughter, Rachael before buying the book. (Rare Book Auctions)

Staffordshire, November 28 — A rare first edition of a Harry Potter book has sold for £36,000.

Christine McCulloch bought the copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for her son Adam in the 1990s.

She said she paid about £10 for the copy from a bookshop in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1997 and had no idea the same book would be worth thousands of pounds, 30 years later.

On Wednesday, the first edition was sold at Rare Book Auctions in Lichfield, Staffordshire, with the buyer paying £45,000 in total with a buyer's premium.

The book is one of only 500 hardback copies published in the first-ever Potter book print run in 1997, according to Hansons Auctioneers.

It had been given a valuation of between £30,000 and £50,000.

Adam McCulloch, from Tansley, Derbyshire, said the copy had been left in a cupboard under the stairs of his family's former house in Chesterfield - much like Harry Potter in the book and film series.

The family only learned of its potential value during lockdown in 2020, having seen stories about first editions.

"Once we got it verified it was a bit of a pinch yourself moment," he said.

Rare Book Auctions A first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on a wooden table.Rare Book Auctions

Adam and his family learned how to identify a first edition from an article before examining their copy

Speaking of the moment Ms McCulloch bought the book in 1997, she said: "We went in [the bookshop], bought it for £10.

"Adam really loved the book and it started off this sort of fascination, as with so many children all over the world now."

Her son said it was the right time to pass the book on for others to enjoy.

"In some ways I think having that bit of a story around it, some tea stains there and a folded over corner here where someone's enjoyed reading it - I think that adds to the magic," he said.