JK Rowling created one of the most famous book series of all time.
The Harry Potter novels have become a staple on people’s bookshelves – but despite there being so many of them, some editions are still highly sought-after by collectors.
So how can you spot if your old books are valuable or not? Helpfully, Sotheby’s uploaded a short video explaining the key details you should look for.
An expert held up a rare copy and addressed viewers by saying: “Is your book of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone worth $100,000? Here’s four ways to tell.” You can read their advice below…
1) Check the edition
First editions are often highly sought after, especially if the book became popular or was a significant literary work. A first edition is the first printing of a book when it is initially published.
The Sotheby’s expert demonstrated by showing a valuable book, adding: “This is JK Rowling’s first book and the first in the Harry Potter series. Because she was a completely unknown author, they only issued 500 copies of this first edition.”
If you don’t have a novel from the first print run, don’t fret. There are other factors that make books valuable.
Limited editions, signed copies and special printings can also fetch a lot under the hammer. And some very early copies may even have notes on them from JK Rowling too!
2) Look at how many were made available
If there are barely any of the books in circulation, they are likely to be in higher demand and collectors could stump up more for them.
The Sotheby’s example is deemed very valuable because there were only 200 released to sellers.
The YouTube video explains: “The initial print run of 500 copies, 300 were sent to libraries and 200 to bookstores. This is from a bookstore.”
3) Check for specific printing code
By looking at your books’ printing codes, you may be able to establish if they are worth a lot of money.
The number line on the copyright page helps to identify the book’s printing. A complete number line (e.g., 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) often indicates a first printing. As printings continue, the smallest number is typically removed or moved down the sequence.
The Sotheby’s expert explained: “This is a first edition, first printing of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. And we know this by going to the publisher’s imprint page because this is a first printing, this number line will go down from 10 to 1.
“In later printings, this will change. For example, for a third printing it would go down from 10 to 3.”
4) Hunt for mistakes
While you may assume printing mistakes make books less valuable, this isn’t actually the case. Collectors enjoy buying novels that are as unique as possible – so these errors can actually be deemed very appealing.
Sotheby’s said: “Mistakes are often prized when collecting rare books. In later editions, they’re corrected. For example, on page 53 listing Harry’s school equipment, 1 wand is on there twice.”
This post was originally published on here
