Rare first edition of Harry Potter book sold for over Rs 38 lakh at auction

Christine McCulloch purchased the book for about £10 (approximately Rs 1,070) in 1997 from a Stratford-upon-Avon bookshop as a gift for her son Adam, unaware it would become a valuable collector's item decades later.

In Short

• Rare Harry Potter book sold for £36,000 at auction
• Purchased for £10 in 1997 as a gift
• Sale included buyer's premium, totaling £45,000

A rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has sold for £36,000 (approximately Rs 38,53,116) at an auction.

Christine McCulloch purchased the book for about £10 (approximately Rs 1,070) in 1997 from a Stratford-upon-Avon bookshop as a gift for her son Adam, unaware it would become a valuable collector’s item decades later, BBC reports.

The sale took place on Wednesday at Rare Book Auctions in Lichfield, Staffordshire, with the buyer’s premium bringing the total to £45,000 (approximately Rs 48,16,395).

Hansons Auctioneers confirmed that the book is one of only 500 hardback copies from the first print run of JK Rowling’s debut novel. It was initially valued between £30,000 and £50,000.

Adam McCulloch, from Tansley, Derbyshire, revealed that the treasured book had been stored in a cupboard under the stairs at the family’s former home in Chesterfield.

"Once we got it verified, it was a bit of a pinch yourself moment," Adam told BBC, adding: "In some ways, I think having that bit of a story around it, some tea stains there and a folded over corner here where someone's enjoyed reading it - I think that adds to the magic.”

The family discovered its potential value during the lockdown in 2020 after reading about the soaring worth of first editions.