MORE than 13 of the rarest Harry Potter books have been sold at auction in Lichfield.
Copies of JK Rowling’s tales have gone under the hammer with Rare Book Auctions – fetching more than £150,000 in total.
Bids from across the world came in for the books, which included both pristine and well-read copies, including two first edition hardbacks of the 500 in the first-ever print run which went for £64,000 and £36,000.
Two paperback first editions went for £12,000 each.
Jim Spencer, director of Rare Book Auctions, said:
“This sale’s been hugely exciting. The first auction dedicated solely to Harry Potter books not only broke records in terms of the number of registered bidders and watchers.
“We’ve had cast-signed books, uncorrected proofs and paperbacks many times over the years, but this sale soared to new heights.
“We worked really hard to pitch this event perfectly, so it’s a huge relief that everything clicked into place. The 13 books are now winging their way to new homes across the UK, the USA and the United Arab Emirates.
“It’s taken a lot of miles out on the road, visiting people far and wide to secure the 13 lots that made up this very small, specialist sale. I was always keen to let Harry stand up on his own in this way, and the results have shown how enthusiastically the market welcomes these books.
“I’ve met some amazing people with moving stories to tell, so the best thing is to know we’ve done them proud.”
Other strong results included a record hammer price of £5,500 for a cast-signed copy of a paperback of Philosopher’s Stone – won in a school raffle by the seller in around 2001.
An uncorrected proof copy of Chamber of Secrets fetched a record £7,000, an uncorrected proof of Prisoner of Azkaban hammered at £5,000 and a copy of Deathly Hallows signed ‘To Harry!’ by JK Rowling went for £2,600.