Two sisters who were gifted a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling are selling it 25 years later for a British record £150,000. The author gave the hardback copy, one of the first 500 to be printed, to her neighbour in Edinburgh to pass on to her two young relatives.
She even inscribed it: 'To Jenny and Lucy, with best wishes, JK Rowling' and dated it September 6, 1997. The siblings treasured the rare book, putting it in storage while they bought a lesser copy for them to read. They have had the first edition ever since, keeping it in pristine condition.
In the first printing run, 300 copies were given to libraries and schools and the remaining 200 passed into private hands. They all contain several typing errors including 'one wand' being printed twice on a list of items Harry needs for Hogwarts on page 53.
