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"Who is the most important person I've ever met in a signing queue & the first person ever to see merit in Harry Potter. With huge [underlined 4 times] thanks. J.K. Rowling": First Edition, First Printing of J.K. Rowling's Rare First Book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone; Inscribed by Her to Bryony Evens and with a large original illustration by Thomas Taylor

ROWLING, J.K.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

London: Bloomsbury 1997.

First edition, first printing of the rarest book in the Harry Potter series, a cornerstone of young adult literature, and one of the best-selling books of all time. First printing with “First published in Great Britain in 1997”, the full number line “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”, “Joanne Rowling” for “J.K. Rowling”, and “Thomas Taylor1997” (lacking the space) on the copyright page and “1 wand” listed twice (as the first item and last item) on the “Other Equipment” list on page 53. Octavo, original laminated pictorial boards, without a dust jacket as issued. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the dedication page, “to Bryony – who is the most important person I’ve ever met in a signing queue & the first person ever to see merit in Harry Potter. With huge [underlined 4 times] thanks. J.K. Rowling.” Additionally signed and with a large original drawing by cover illustrator Thomas Taylor. The recipient, Bryony Evens was one of the first people to read the opening chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first to recognize the work’s inherent value, and perhaps the most instrumental figure in getting the book published. Working at the time at Christopher Little Literary Agency in Scotland, Evens was the first point of contact in receiving and sorting unsolicited manuscripts. Evens read Rowling’s submission of the first three chapters of the book and passed it along to Little, who approved that she obtain the full manuscript and promote it to suitable publishers. Given a small budget, Evens was only able to print three manuscripts to pitch to publishing houses and, after twelve months and twelve rejections, was finally given the green light by editor Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury in London. Bloomsbury published the book on June 26, 1997. A year later, Bryony attended a Harry Potter book signing event where Rowling received her with open arms and warmly inscribed the present volume. Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International in 1990 when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series while on a delayed train from Manchester to London. The seven-year period that followed saw the death of her mother, birth of her first child, divorce from her first husband, and relative poverty. A true “rags to riches” story, the publication of the present volume would bring her from living on benefits to billionaire status. She was named the world’s first billionaire author by Forbes in 2014 and the Harry Potter series has become the best-selling book series of all time. In near fine condition with a touch of rubbing to the extremities. At the time of the book’s publication in 1996, illustrator Thomas Taylor had just graduated from art school and was working at Heffers Children’s Bookshop in Cambridge. At Heffers, Taylor educated himself on the children’s book market and its major publishers and decided to submit a portfolio of his illustrations to the offices of Bloomsbury Publishing, including several drawings of dragons and wizards. Taylor heard back from Bloomsbury’s editor, Barry Cunningham (who had recently decided to take a chance on publishing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone after it had been rejected by twelve other publishers) almost immediately. Cunningham phoned him at Heffers and asked if he could create a design for the cover of a relatively unknown author’s first book about a schoolboy wizard. He sent Taylor an incomplete manuscript of the book and, after two days, Taylor had a final product: a watercolor painting of a young Harry Potter with his lightning-bolt scar standing next to the Hogwarts Express on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Only 500 copies of the first printing were published, 300 of which were distributed directly to libraries. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. An exceptional association copy linking the most important figure in the publication of Harry Potter and the creator of his iconic image.

Price: $975,000.00     Item Number: 115640