Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

First Deluxe Collector's Edition. Large 8vo. Pp. [vi (blank)], 223, [1 (blank)]. Publisher's red buckram, lettered and blocked in gilt to cover and spine, with mounted full-colour pictorial onlay by Thomas Taylor and author's facsimile signature to upper board, scarlet endpapers. All edges gilt. Printed on wove paper by Clays Ltd, St Ives. With sewn in blue silk ribbon bookmark. No dustjacket, as issued.

Text copyright by J. K. Rowling (unlike the hardback and paperback first editions published on 26 June 1997), and full descending number line 10-down-to-1 to copyright page. 1/4,869 copies published on 27 September 1999, same date as the first deluxe editions of Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban. Specifically created for the gift market, they were priced at £18 each.

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.

The idea of Harry Potter 'slid' into the mind of Joanne Rowling on a delayed train journey from Manchester to London in the summer of 1990, with the manuscript being completed early in 1996. UK rights were bought by Bloomsbury for an advance of £1,500, after HarperCollins, which also showed interest, was slow in making a definite offer. The title had previously been rejected by six other publishers.

In a unique broadcasting event, BBC Radio 4 cleared its schedule on the FM frequency for 26 December 2000 and beginning at 12 noon, the complete text of Philosopher's Stone was read out by Stephen Fry. 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), A1(d)]