Harry Potter book bought for £1 sells for £28,500 at auction

A rare original copy of the first Harry Potter book has sold for £28,500 at auction.

The first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling's debut novel, was bought by a private collector from the UK.

The 1997 book, published with two errors, was sold by Staffordshire libraries for £1 about 20 years ago.

The hardback lay in a cupboard at the owner's home until it was discovered by auctioneers.

The auction at Bishton Hall, in Staffordshire saw bids from all over the world and the winning sum came in over the phone, said Hansons.

Neither buyer nor seller wished to be named, said Jill Gallone from the auctioneers, but she was "very pleased" for them both.

"When the gavel went down there was a round of applause, it was very exciting," she added.

The owner, an office-worker from Staffordshire, had bought the book from their local library to read on holiday.

Only 500 copies were published in the tale's first print run, with 300 sent to libraries, said Hansons.

The first edition could be identified by two typographical errors, including "Philosopher's" being spelt as "Philospher's", the auctioneers added.

The sale coincided with author JK Rowling's birthday, 31 July - which is also the birthday of her fictional creation Harry Potter.

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