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Topics: Books, Harry Potter, UK News, JK Rowling
Poppy Bilderbeck
A first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is set to sell at auction for over £200,000 ($250,000).
If there was ever a time to get rifling through your cupboards and find the motivation to have a big old sort out, then the chance of finding a book worth nearly a quarter of a million pounds should definitely give you all the oomph you need.
A hardback first edition of the first book in the Harry Potter series is set to go to auction at Christie's in London this month.
And it's not the only one of its kind.
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The book features some of the original errors in the manuscript before they were edited out in further editions.
Specialist in printed books and co-curator of the exhibition the book is being auctioned off within, Mark Wiltshire, told Reuters: "There were a few things that they seemed to get wrong in the book production.
"On the back cover, for instance, philosophers, which of course is quite a key word... is misspelt 'philosphers', that 'o', that second 'o' is missing.
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"Also on page 53, in the list of items which pupils are asked to take to Hogwarts with them, 'one wand' is repeated twice."
The book is also signed by the author, J. K. Rowling, herself.
The book is set to be sold in a private auction, however the public will be able to view it on display beforehand.
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It's auctioning as part of the 'Art of Literature: Loan and Selling Exhibition'.
Offers for the hardback start at £200,000.
On 26 June, 1997, 500 hardback copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone were printed.
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However, there are only thought to be roughly 200 copies in good condition floating around in people's bookcases.
This is because the other 300 were sent to libraries and so have likely been manhandled multiple times and very well-used and so no longer in tip-top shape.
If books are discovered in good condition, each copy similarly could be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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Wiltshire reflected on the high price: "In many ways, this book is the physical manifestation of a magic memory for so many people and that's what makes it so desirable."
If you don't happen to have a small fortune tucked away for a rainy day, then fear not, because you can still get a peep at the original.
The 'Art of Literature' event at Christie's is open to the public from 7 to 15 June at Christie's London auction house in Westminster.
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