Introduction
It's been 23 years since Harry Potter burst onto the public consciousness, even though to some of us it still feels like yesterday. Today, some early copies of the original books are worth a small fortune. Let's see what you need to look for, in case that old copy in your bookshelf turns out to be magical treasure.
Thanks to Holne Books, located within the national park boundaries of Dartmoor (Devon, England) for this article idea and helping with samples to study Proceeds from their bookshop go to Devon Air Ambulance. Recommend stopping by if you're taking a trip this way!
Valuable Harry Potter books are rarer than you think
The book, they say, is always better than the film. Fitting then that any Harry Potter book is probably worth more than it's equivalent DVD movie version - Unless perhaps it's signed by the cast and JKR herself! However this article isn't about DVDs - today we are sticking to the analogue world of printed media. Worth making the point upfront though - signed articles of any nature take the value to a completely different level, also covered here.
Whatever Harry Potter books you have in good condition are likely worth under £10 - Just to set expectations! Paperbacks less still, plenty of immaculate earlier copies are still <£5. There are a very rare few worth significant amounts - even then, not life changing amounts. We're talking a few hundred to a thousand dollars/pounds for some of the best rare editions of the first 2 books only. They became popular halfway between 2 - 3rd book, from mid-life editions of the 2nd book there's not really any rarity left to be found.
If it isn't obvious by now then, the most valuable Harry Potter items (namely books) are the ones printed before it really exploded. Really like any book when first published, the publisher makes the call and prints a few thousand copies to see if it works or not. With any popular culture collectibles, there is a window of early items that will hold most value, when provenance can show they originate prior to the 'viral' phase of popularity. This happened within a year of "The Chamber of Secrets”, the 2nd title being released 1999. Production of print copies and size of print runs skyrocketed thereafter. Books signed by the author or even with book event tickets can also be very valuable. Here is a guide of what to look out for:
1 - The Philosopher’s Stone
The first of the Harry Potter books and worth far more than any of the others. To be a first edition, in either hard or soft cover, there are four very important details that have to be present for it to be of ANY value:
- The publisher must be listed as Bloomsbury at the bottom of the title page.
- The latest date listed in the copyright information must be 1997.
- The print line on the copyright page must read “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”, ten down to one, exactly. The lowest figure in the print line indicates the printing. For instance, if your copy has “20 19 18 17”, it’s a less valuable seventeenth printing. Find this information at the bottom of the publishers info page.
- The copyright name will read “Joanne Rowling”, but this does not make it a true first edition. All early printings of this book have the same copyright statement. (see also different note about this for Chamber of Secrets).
- These rare editions also contain a typo, a repeat of the words '1 wand' in a list, page 53
The rarest of all ...
This would be the Hardcover + 1st edition + 1st printing copies from 1997. This book is both exceedingly rare and valuable. 500 were published and 300 went to libraries. Those unfortunate 300 library books will have had an insufferable life, and probably most never made it to the present day. This probably leaves only ~200 possible copies in good enough condition to be valuable. A 1997 first edition first printing will have a print line that reads "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”. Prices on AbeBooks vary from £28,850 to £39,700. A handful of advance proof copies are available from £5,400 to £9,700.
From here, for example the 4th print runs has ’10 9 8 7 6 4’ on the publishers info page that can be found at the front of the book. 4th edition hardbacks are being listed for up to £1500. It's likely you might take a long time to sell at this value however. A specialist auction might be your easiest way forwards if you don't just keep it for future posterity. However, once we spill over the initial 10 print runs, values tumble fast. Although there are still optimistically priced examples like a 13th impression currently listed on AbeBooks.co.uk at £300 (once-read condition mint hardback with dust jacket).
- For example print run 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 is worth upto £30 for a good hardback first edition. Perhaps half that for paperback - £15 at most optimistic niche book store price.
- PAPERBACKS, same 4 rules above apply but these are more common and worth about 50% less than any hardback estimate (depending on condition). They start from just £70 for 1st edition first print run.
- The first editions and first printing of the Deluxe edition from 1999 are also desirable with prices from £320 to £1,800.
Remember up to this point only applies to The Philosopher's Stone. Next we'll finish up with the 2nd book onwards.
image credit
2 - The Chamber of Secrets
Though both the paperback and hardback first editions of the Philosopher’s Stone are of value, this is not the case with the other books in the series. For the other titles, it is only the 1998 first hardback edition with the dust jacket that has serious collector value.
- 1st Edition + 1st Print + Hardback + Jacket can go for up to £6000
- 1st Edition 5th Print run (5 4 3 2 1) - Variable, condition highly dependent on value to collectors. Check AbeBooks.com or specialist auction house. <£1000
- 1st Edition 20th Print Hardback is worth around £25 to a collector
It is possible to find signed copies, from the time just before J.K. Rowling exploded into the public consciousness, she still signed a lot of books. Her stopping doing this later has increased values of these signed examples. A more specialist valuation or auction should be sought out in this case. Signed copies especially early print runs can be worth a few hundred £ up and more.
Some of the second book still said ‘Joanne Rowling’ which can add a lot of value. This feature is rare only in the 2nd book, as she became ‘J K Rowling’ by Bloomberg (for marketing purposes, allegedly to hide from boys the authors sex). There are likely 25,000 or so per print run (impression) by stages 11 on, so these won't be very rare. Very 1st impression might only be a few thousand copies.
Some 1st impressions of the second Harry Potter book ( 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ) are even going for as little as $15 (paperback, not mint, unsigned etc). So it's really only hardback and very early that are of any possible interest.
3 - Prisoner of Azkaban
Must have been published in 1999 by Bloomsbury with no mention of subsequent edition, publisher, or later date on the copyright page, and have a printing number sequence of “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”. The most valuable copies are the first issue, with 2 mistakes - “Joanne Rowling” and not “J. K. Rowling” on the copyright page, along with a dropped line of text on page 7.
4 - Goblet of Fire & Others
The last four titles in the series, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows, must be first print run first edition, hardback mint and with dust jacket. They'll have the words “First Edition” printed on the copyright page. Even the first print runs were very large, so none are really of much value UNLESS they are also autographed/signed by the author.
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Thanks to sources:
https://www.abebooks.co.uk/docs/harry-potter/hp-collecting-guide.shtml
https://www.peterharrington.co.uk/blog/is-my-harry-potter-book-valuable-2/
Posted from my blog with HivePress : https://newtonclassics.co.uk/2020/10/03/a-guide-to-harry-potter-book-values/