DALLAS — A rare, first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – one of just 500 original copies, of which 300 were destined for British libraries – set a world record when it sold for $81,250 during Heritage Auctions’ offering of rare books September 14. A swarm of bidders pursued the J.K. Rowling first edition until it more than quadrupled its estimate. Presented as originally sold, without a dust jacket, the volume also set the world record for the highest price paid for an unsigned work of fiction published in the last 50 years. Frenzied bidding pushed numerous lots well past their auction estimates, propelling the total sales in the event to nearly $2 million.

Heritage Auctions’ Rare Books Director, James Gannon said “We have sold great Harry Potter titles – not to mention chairs – in the past, but we never really paid attention to such a thing as a world record. This recent copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone surpassed the earlier record of approximately $60,000 by more than 30 percent.”

See a future issue of Antiques and the Arts Weekly for a full review of this auction.