Harry Potter Series Complete Deluxe Set. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, and The Deathly Hallows.

ROWLING, J.K.

Item Number: 81035

London: Bloomsbury, 1997-2007.

First editions of the deluxe edition of each book in Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Octavo, 7 volumes, illustrated, original decorative cloth as issued. Each volume is signed by J.K. Rowling on the title page and was signed by Rowling in person for the previous owner. The Prisoner of Azkaban is inscribed. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is additionally signed on the title page by Thomas Taylor with an original drawing of Harry Potter. When Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was in the initial stages of 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. In fine condition. No dust jackets were issued for these volumes. Scarce and desirable.

Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on 26 June 1997, the books have found immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. The books have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide, making them the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into seventy-three languages. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final installment selling roughly eleven million copies in the United States within twenty-four hours of its release. The Harry Potter series has been recognized by a host of awards since the initial publication of Philosopher's Stone including four Whitaker Platinum Book Awards (all of which were awarded in 2001), three Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes (1997–1999),[109] two Scottish Arts Council Book Awards (1999 and 2001), the inaugural Whitbread children's book of the year award (1999), the WHSmith book of the year (2006), among others. In 2000, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Novel, and in 2001, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire won said award. Honors include a commendation for the Carnegie Medal (1997), a short listing for the Guardian Children's Award (1998), and numerous listings on the notable books, editors' Choices, and best books lists of the American Library Association, The New York Times, Chicago Public Library, and Publishers Weekly. Also the basis for the eight fantasy films, beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001) and culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). The series was mainly produced by David Heyman, and stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson as the three leading characters: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.