As well as over 20 illustrations from Rowling herself, the auctioned edition Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone includes handwritten notes from the author on how she invented Quidditch, alongside pages of other thoughts & ‘second opinions’ about the opening book in the series.
The Harry Potter book was sold to a telephone bidder at Sotheby’s charitable auction of rare books, held in aid of the English Pen writer’s association.
Although Rowling’s book fetched the highest price – the highest yet for a highly sought-after first edition of the popular book (the initial print run only produced 500 copies) – other writers also offered annotated and rare copies of their work at the auction. A copy of Roald Dahl’s Matilda sold for around €35,000, including new illustrations from the late author’s long-time collaborator Quentin Blake.
A unique edition of Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day fetched over €23,000, while offerings from irish writers Seamus Heaney and Colm Tóibín went for €19,840 and €18,000 respectively. The full auction of over 51 first editions raised approximately €513,000.
