A rare first edition of the very first Harry Potter book, written by the acclaimed British authoress J K Rowling, fetched a magical £9,000 today (26 June 2007) at Bonhams’ Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Photographs Sale in London. It was bought by an absentee buyer, who had left a commission bid with the auction house.

The copy of Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone, published by Bloomsbury in 1997, had a pre-sale estimate of £5,000-7,000, but as bidding escalated within the saleroom, the price was forced much higher.

Bonhams sold the hardback on behalf of a lady who had bought it originally with book tokens she had been given as a school prize. She had bought the first book she had spotted in the shop window.

It is believed that between 500 and 1000 first edition copies of this title were printed in 1997.

Visit the WCN Harry Potter information pages and message boards.

For more details visit the Bonhams web site.