Jane Thompson-Webb said she bought the first edition when she was working in a bookshop in 1997
A woman who bought a copy of Harry Potter in 1997 for just £3.50 has discovered that it is now worth a staggering amount nearly 30 years after she first purchased it.
Jane Thompson-Webb, now 54, bought an original soft cover first edition of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone when she was 26.
Originally costing £4.99, she was given a 30 percent staff discount to bring the price of the tome down to £3.50, the equivalent of around £10 today with inflation taken into account.
Now, 27 years after her original purchase, Jane’s copy of the book is up for sale for a staggering amount as the character’s star shows little sign of dimming.
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According to auctioneer Richard Winterton, Jane’s copy could be worth as much as £5,000. He explained “This is an exceptional copy and we anticipate a huge amount of interest at auction.
“We have estimated this book at £3,000 to £3,500 but hope it could get to the £5,000 because the condition is stunning.”
Mr Winterton also explained how fellow owners of first editions could tell if they were in possession of a valuable copy. He said: “If you think you have a first edition of the book – either in soft cover or hard cover – there are certain vital things to look out for. I go straight to the back cover where there should be a letter ‘o’ missing from the word philosopher’s.
It reads ‘Acclaim for Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone’. It also refers to ‘Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft’ – this was later swapped round to ‘Witchcraft and Wizardry’. Check that the publisher is Bloomsbury and the latest date listed in the copyright information is 1997.”
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He added: “The print line on the copyright page should read “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1” and in the copyright information for the cover illustration of Thomas Taylor 1997, there is no gap between his surname and the date: ‘Taylor1997’.”
Meanwhile, Jane, who works as a conservation manager for the Birmingham Museum’s Trust, has spoken about when she bought her copy.
She said: “I bought it for myself while I was working in Ottakar’s Bookshop in Birmingham,” Jane said. When the first Harry Potter was released we reviewed it for an in-house newsletter.
“I was 26 at the time and bought it because I wanted to read it – I’ve always read children’s stories. I remember people coming to buy the book before Christmas.
“But what’s really vivid is how many parents with young boys came in after Christmas with the boys asking when the next book was coming out because they wanted to read the next story. That book got boys reading.”
Sourse: www.express.co.uk
