‘Potter book could get us £50k thanks to Blue Peter’

In the 1990s, Christine McCulloch loved sitting down for children’s show Blue Peter with her son Adam and daughter Rachael.

The trio watched one afternoon as author JK Rowling discussed her new book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and its popularity.

As a result, Christine bought her son a copy for about £10 at a bookshop while the family were on holiday in 1997.

The retired nurse was unaware she had just snapped up a rare first edition and nearly 30 years later, that same book could now sell for £50,000.

“Mum liked Blue Peter as a child and used to watch the show with us,” said Adam, from Tansley, near Matlock in Derbyshire.

“I was seven, just about to turn eight, when we purchased the book on our family holiday with my dad to Stratford.

“Mum thinks she paid the standard retail price, about £10. It was on display in the window and she recognised it from Blue Peter.”

Christine, 64, added: “I remember the joy of buying the book from a nice, independent bookshop. I recall the window display to launch the book was so well done, and it caught my eye.”

Adam, a musician and marketing manager, said like Harry in the world-famous book and film series, the copy ended up in a cupboard under the stairs of their old house in Chesterfield “for a time”.

“The real moment of discovery about its value came during lockdown in 2020. I was living in Sheffield and my sister and mum were back home,” the 35-year-old said.

“They’d seen stories about first editions and, because we’d never really checked, followed steps laid out by books expert Jim Spencer in an article explaining how to identify a first edition.”

Among the key indicators of a true first edition are the repetition of “1 wand” in a list Harry has, and the number sequence 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 on the copyright page.

Adam said he was “excited but nervous” about the upcoming auction at what has been billed as the world’s first Harry Potter auction at Rare Book Auctions in Lichfield, Staffordshire, on 27 November.

“It gave me such a buzz when I first had the book because it was another new story to read,” he said.

“Clearly, the thirst for that is alive and well and I’m sure whoever gets their hands on this copy will share that same excitement for themselves.

“For years we thought we’d misplaced its dust cover – until we found out it never had one. It was only through the media focus… that we realised there was no cover with the first edition.

“I think it’s the right time to pass it on.”

The book has been valued at between £30,000 and £50,000 by Hansons Auctioneers.

Rare Book Auctions director Jim Spencer said: “I love the fact this first edition was bought by chance for all the right reasons, and thoroughly enjoyed in the first wave of Potter excitement.

“The find also reminds us of the power of Blue Peter.

“The show’s 1997 TV interview with JK Rowling, then a budding author aged 32, is on YouTube and it’s fascinating to watch.”