The reserve price for an original proof copy of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,’ which was uncovered in a primary school, was not met despite the highest bid of £13,000.
The book was discovered during the summer in St. Kenelm’s Primary School, located in Minster Lovell, Witney, Oxfordshire. It had been originally purchased for £1 in 1997 and was subsequently put up for auction at Hansons Auctioneers, where it failed to sell. The title page bears the name “J.A. Rowling” as the author, and the book features a simple yellow and white cover. This is one of only 200 uncorrected proof copies printed by Bloomsbury in 1997. Jim Spencer, the head of books at Hansons Auctioneers, expressed his disappointment at the failure to meet the reserve price but announced that it would be re-auctioned in November.
“In the end, it would have been incorrect to sell it for too little. It fully deserves to fetch a price in the range of £15,000 to £20,000,” he remarked. I intended to raise a significant sum of money for the school, as it is a worthy cause. The reason for its unassuming appearance is that it was created just before Harry Potter gained fame. It was originally purchased from a bookshop sale to provide the children with an ‘early taste’ of the Harry Potter novel, according to former headteacher Bob Alder, 75, who spoke before the auction. While the teachers shared it with the students, it did not receive wide publicity, he claimed.
The school removed the book from its shelves as the series gained immense popularity but it disappeared in 2015. During the summer break, Mr. Alder rediscovered it while organizing a classroom cupboard. The decision to sell the book was made by the school to further nurture the students’ passion for literature and provide them with new books and equipment, as the school had limited resources. Mr. Alder stated that selling it would help alleviate the school’s financial constraints. Alongside this book, there was also a 15th-anniversary competition prize edition of the book, signed and dedicated by Rowling, and it was auctioned with a proposed illustrated cover for the first Harry Potter novel.
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