Rare first editions of three of J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter books are set to go up for auction – and could fetch up to £70,000.
They’re among a number of rare books that are going under the hammer on Wednesday, June 19, with a signed first edition of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale and a complete set of A.A Milne’s Winnie The Pooh also being sold.
All of the Pooh books are signed by Milne as well as illustrator E.H Shepherd and will be available to buy through Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers in Edinburgh and it will be available both online and in person.
The first edition of Harry Potter and the Philospher Stone is the book that is expected to earn the biggest sale. Only 500 were initially made because publishers were unsure about how successful it would be, only for it to go on and be one of the bestselling books in history with more than 120 million copies.
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The 1997 book is valued at between £40,000 and £60,000 and it is exceptionally rare for there to be one on the market. Also on the market from the world of the boy wizard is a first edition Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and the first edition of the third book in the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban.
All three are said to be in excellent condition and the latter two will go for between £4,000 and £6,000 and £3,000 to £4,000 respectively.
Cathy Marsden is the head of books and manuscripts at the auctioneers and said: “A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is an exceptionally rare book to find in any condition, and one in such an excellent condition could well be called the jewel in any Harry Potter collector’s crown.
"The auction also boasts an impressive selection of Rowling’s books, including two copies of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, one signed by J.K. Rowling valued between £4,000 and £6,000, and a rare first impression edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
"Given that much of the writing took place in Edinburgh, it’s fitting that this early and important piece of Harry Potter history will be sold in the capital.”
Casino Royale is another which is expected to bring in a lot of money, with the first of the James Bond novels going up for sale.
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The book is signed by Fleming and inscribed by the author to Ion Smeaton Munro, who was Fleming’s night editor at Kemsley Newspapers and was a decorated army officer himself.
The inscription reads: “To I.S.M, who’s [sic] staunch keeping of the night watches freed the author for this extra-mural opus, Ian Fleming, April 1953.”
The book is valued at between £30,000 and £50,000 while the entire set of Winnie The Pooh books is valued at between £15,000 and £22,000 and it’s the first time they have ever gone up for sale.
Marsden added: “It’s always exciting to handle first editions of books that have become part of public’s imagination. At the time of publishing, no one could have predicted just how much of a phenomenon the stories and characters featured would become. This auction is crammed full of delights and it will be exciting to see the results.”
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