Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$2000.00 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: Fourteenth printing. Signed by J. K. Rowling on the title page. Bound in publisher's purple diamond-embossed paper-covered boards over red spine cloth. Very Good+ with light lean to spine, light shelf wear, large former owner name and details written to front free end paper in marker. In a Very Good+ unclipped dust jacket with shelf wear and a tear to the front panel near the flap fold repaired from the blindside with tape. The first title in Rowling's runaway best-selling series, signed by the author.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Description: Handsomely bound in finely woven quarter brick red cloth spine stamped brightly in gold. And purple paper-covered boards with a diamond pattern. Clean and tight throughout. In a complete, very crisp later issue dust jacket priced at $19.95 and has the "Year 1" at the top of the spine. Boldly signed by "J.K. Rowling" on the title page in sharpie. According to Rowling, the idea for both the Harry Potter books and its eponymous character came while waiting for a delayed train from Manchester, England to London in 1990. She stated that the idea of "this scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me".[2] While developing the ideas for her book, she also decided to make Harry an orphan who attended a boarding school called Hogwarts. She explained in a 1999 interview with The Guardian: "Harry had to be an orphanso that he's a free agent, with no fear of letting down his parents, disappointing them. Hogwarts has to be a boarding schoolhalf the important stuff happens at night! Then there's the security. Having a child of my own reinforces my belief that children above all want security, and that's what Hogwarts offers Harry."[3]Her own mother's death on 30 December 1990 inspired Rowling to write Harry as a boy longing for his dead parents, his anguish becoming "much deeper, much more real" than in earlier drafts because she related to it herself.[2] In a 2000 interview with The Guardian, Rowling also established that the character of Wart in T. H. White's novel The Once and Future King is "Harry's spiritual ancestor".[4] Finally, she established Harry's birth date as 31 July, the same as her own. However, she maintained that Harry was not directly based on any real-life person: "he came just out of a part of me".[5]Rowling has also maintained that Harry is a suitable real-life role model for children. "The advantage of a fictional hero or heroine is that you can know them better than you can know a living hero, many of whom you would never meet. if people like Harry and identify with him, I am pleased, because I think he is very likeable." (Wikipedia) Later printing: 22nd edition of the first printing with 22 the lowest number on the line.
Seller: Brainerd Phillipson Rare Books, Holliston, MA, U.S.A.
Rowling J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - signed. Arthur E. Levine, 1998.
Price: US$6095.29 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First American edition, second printing of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (the USA-adapted title of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone"), signed in October 1998 by J.K. Rowling on the verso of the half-title page. The book was signed during Rowling's first American visit, during which she met only around 100-200 people. This situation would change drastically the following year for her second American tour, after the Harry Potter hype had taken off. Signed American editions with a 1998 signature are therefore extremely rare. Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity (LoA) from Adam Houston (TheHarryPotterSpecialist), the world's sole J.K. Rowling signature expert and an informative collector's card that provides additional details. The book is in near fine, unread condition with bumped spine ends, minor scratches on some page edges, and, inconspicuously due to the use of a black pen on a green background, the previous owner's name on the first free endpaper. The first-state dust jacket, featuring a review from The Guardian on the rear panel, is also in near fine condition. The jacket is slightly wrinkled at the spine ends but without fading or noticeable wear. A highly collectible early signed Harry Potter book.
Seller: Winters Rare Books, Gouda, ZH, Netherlands
Price: US$7800.00 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: First American edition, second printing. Signed by J. K. Rowling on the verso of the half-title page. Bound in publisher's purple diamond-embossed paper-covered boards over red spine cloth. Near Fine with light edge wear, in a Near Fine price-clipped dust jacket with a very faint stain to the blindside at the foot. A fantastic copy of the first title in Rowling's runaway best-selling series, signed by the author.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Rowling, J. K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic, 1998.
Price: US$8999.99 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Hardcover first American edition is near fine with some wrinkling to front end page. Points lightly bumped. Jacket near fine. Inscribed by Rowling to half title page. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; Signed by Author
Seller: curtis paul books, inc., Northridge, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$12500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First American edition, first printing. Signed by J. K. Rowling on the title page. All first printing points present on book and jacket: embossed purple diamond boards; spine lacking "Year 1" and stating J. K. Rowling; complete number line, first edition statement and Printed in the U.S.A. 23" on copyright page; in first issue dust jacket priced at $16.95, with The Guardian blurb on the rear and UPC in cream colored rectangle. Bump to bottom corner of upper board, still Fine, in a Fine dust jacket. A fantastic copy of the first title in Rowling's runaway best-selling series, signed by the author.
Seller: Burnside Rare Books, ABAA, Portland, OR, U.S.A.
Price: US$12500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing of this First American Edition with all the First Issue points. This copy is authentically SIGNED by J.K. Rowling on the title page. A wonderful copy bound in the original cloth with quarter red cloth over purple diamond-embossed boards. This ORIGINAL dustjacket has the $16.95 price and the First Issue dustjacket with the Guardian quote on the back panel. The book is in nice condition with minor wear to the boards. The pages are clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. A lovely copy SIGNED by the author.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.