Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

First US edition. 8vo. Pp. [viii], 309, [3]. Quarter-bound in red cloth over purple diamond embossed paper-covered boards; lettered in gilt to spine. Teal green endpapers. In-text and cover illustrations by Mary GrandPré.

All first issue points present: Copyright page has the full number line "1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 8 9/9 0/0 01 02", with "Printed in the U.S.A. 23" and "First American edition, October 1998" below. "Year 1" lacking from spine. Dustjacket title in raised gold lettering and author's name in recessed gold lettering (the latter changed to raised gold lettering in subsequent printings). Top of d/w spine states the author's name as J.K. Rowling (changed to just Rowling in the 5th printing). Likewise on the spine of the actual book. Priced $16.95 on the front jacket flap (it was changed to $17.95 in the 5th printing), with the Guardian blurb to the rear panel (changed to the Publishers Weekly quote, in the 3rd printing), and numbered 51695 above the second bar code. 1/30,000 copies printed.

The U.S. rights were bought for $105,000, after an 8-way phone auction between publishers and Rowling's agent, following the "buzz" generated by the then still unpublished book at the 1997 Bologna book fair. The title was changed for the American market, to better reflect the book's contents, with the author herself coming up with the new appellation.

Superb copy boldly signed by Rowling on Bloomsbury publisher's bookplate laid in on blank verso of half-title.

1997 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize winner. Carnegie Medal 1997 commendation. Listed at number 22 in BBC's Big Read, 200 Best Novels, [2003]. The first book in Rowling's phenomenally successful seven-volume fantasy series, chronicling the orphaned Harry's adventures as he fulfills his destiny, plays Quidditch for Hogwarts, and defends the world against the evil wizard Voldemort. Translated into more than 80 languages, and having sold in excess of 600 million copies worldwide, the series has become a cultural mainstay, inspiring numerous film and stage adaptations, theme parks, and a vast array of merchandise.

[Errington, Philip W., J.K. Rowling: A Bibliography, rev. ed. (London: Bloomsbury, 2017), A4(a)]