Alice Sebold Lovely Bones

First Edition Books - Alice Sebold Lovely Bones Signed

Before becoming a film Alice Sebold's "Lovely Bones" was a best-selling novel, the story of Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old girl murdered on December 6, 1973, who lives in heaven while watching life continue without her. Her family have a very difficult time dealing with her disappearance and her her killer tries to cover his tracks.

Susie Salmon is an omniscient first-person narrator : she can enter the minds of other characters and can even see into the past.

A strange idea for a book but obviously it worked. The film will no doubt be a great success too.

It may, then, be worth taking a look at the first edition books of "The Lovely Bones" some copies are being offered at $500 some for only $50 so it might be worthwhile picking up some of the cheaper signed first editions.

The edition you need to look for is the Little, Brown and Company 2002, Hardcover edition. It needs to be in 'as new' condition with the dust jacket also in as new condition. It needs to be a First Edition, First Printing (with the complete 10-1 number line on copyright page). It should also be signed and dated by Alice Sebold (on her first book signing appearance on July 9th, 2002 if possible). The dust jacket needs to have the Livesey quote on it. It should also be signed by Glen David Gold, Sebold's husband and author of Carter Beats the Devil, on the dedication below his printed name. The promotional postcard signed by author should also be present.

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Related Posts : Auction of First Edition Books and Illustrations in New York

First Edition Books Auction New York

Bloomsbury Auction for First Edition Books and Illustrations in New York - Sendak, Dr Seuss, A A Milne, Roald Dahl

Looking for first edition book bargains ? Then you might like to take a look at Bloomsbury's - Original Illustrations and Fine Illustrated Books auction on Wednesday 9, December at 2 p.m. in New York.

On offer is a total of 365 lots of rare and first edition books and illustrations from authors such as There auction includes works by Maurice Sendak, Dr Seuss, Tom Feelings, Beatrix Potter, A A Milne (Winnie the Pooh), Roald Dahl and many more.

You may be able to pick up a bargain for a few hundred dollars or if you feel inclined you can stump up $30,000 or so for a rare edition by Dr Seuss.

If you don't live in New York you can, of course, bid online (just see the link above and make sure you register in time), for those of you in New York you can view the works on offer prior to the auction on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday or by private appointment - just check with Bloomsbury's for the times.

Bloomsbury's state "The sale will showcase important works from the Golden Age of Illustration to the present day. It will commence with the artistic estate of award winning African American artist Tom Feelings (who) worked as a freelance illustrator of children’s books for over thirty years. ... Among the highlights of the sale is the entire collection of Feelings’ seminal 1996 work The Middle Passage ($250,000-$350,000)."

Here is a short list of a selection of the rare works on offer by famous authorors and illustrators - some of them are very hard to come by.

134. MILNE, A. A. (1882 - 1956) - SHEPARD, E. H. (Illustrator, 1879 - 1976). Winnie-the-Pooh. London: Methuen & Co., [1926]. Square 8vo (222 x 175 mm). Half-title, title vignette and numerous illustrations (a few full-page) after E. H. Shepard. Original blue cloth-backed paper-covered boards, cream paper title label on upper cover, uncut, dust-jacket. Condition: very slight discoloration to paper on covers, dust-jacket discolored at spine and extremities, head of spine chipped with loss of one word, some other chipping to extremities.

limited large-paper edition of 350 copies on 'hand-made paper' signed by author and artist, this copy numbered 58. An excellent copy of rare de luxe issue of the most famous English children's book of the first half of the 20th century.

est. $2000 – $3000


135. MILNE, A. A.; and E. H. SHEPARD (Illustrator, 1882-1956). Winnie-the-Pooh New York: E. P. Dutton, [1926]. Square 8vo (220 x 180 mm). Plates and in text illustrations by Shepard. Original cloth backed printed paper boards, spine label, lacking dust jacket. Condition: light dampstain to outer edge visible on rear board; shelfwear, offsetting to covers. number 192 of 200 large paper copies signed by both milne and shepard, the first american edition.

$1000 – $1500

136. MILNE, A. A. (1882 - 1956) - SHEPARD, E. H. (Illustrator, 1879 - 1976) Now We Are Six London: Methuen & Co., [1927]. Square 8vo (220 x 175 mm). Half-title, title vignette and numerous illustrations (a few full-page) after E. H. Shepard. Original oatmeal-colored cloth-backed brown paper-covered boards, cream paper label on upper cover (with a duplicate replacement tipped onto rear pastedown), uncut, dust-jacket, recent blue cloth box, blue morocco lettering-pice to 'spine' of box. Condition: slight discoloration to endpapers, slight fading, light soiling and small chips to dust-jacket.
limited large-paper edition of 200 copies on 'hand-made paper' signed by the author and artist, this copy numbered 16. An excellent copy: the third in the series of “Pooh” books.

$1000 – $1500

137. MILNE, A. A. (1882 - 1956) A collection of titles by A. A. Milne. Includes:
1) The Red House Mystery. London: Methuen, 1922. Original green cloth. first edition. Provenance: E. L. Spears (bookplate). milne's only mystery novel.
2) By Way of Introduction. London: Methuen, 1929. Original cloth in original printed dust jacket, original publisher's ad laid in. first edition.
3) Two People. London: Methuen, 1931. Original cloth in the original printed dustjacket. first edition. Inside jacket claims this is Milne's first attempt at a novel.
4) Four Days' Wonder. London: Methuen, 1933. Original cloth in the original printed dust jacket. first edition.
5) Chloe Marr. New York: Dutton, 1946. Original cloth in original printed dust jacket. first edition.
6) Peace with Honour. New York: Dutton, 1934. Original cloth in original printed dust jacket. first edition.
7) A large group of other titles in various bindings, many in the original printed dust jackets. Condition: some toning, some minor chips to jackets, some sunning, extremities lightly rubbed.
8) 'Winnie-the-Pooh Songs', three 45 RPM size vinyl discs produced by Stephen Slesinger.
9) Milne ephemera including: 'War with Honour', A Macmillan War Pamphlet. London: 1940; Winnie-the Pooh, Dramatized from the stories of A. A. Milne. Chicago: The Dramatic Publishing Company, 1957; Toad of Toad Hall, the souvenir program for the 1932 production; Winnie-the-Pooh and the Bees A Pop-Up Picture Book. London: Methuen, n.d. (c 1950s). A new full colour edition. Sold not subject to return. Full contents list available upon request. (71)

$1000 – $1500


144. POTTER, Beatrix (1866 - 1943) The Tailor of Gloucester London: Strangeways and Sons, Printers, December 1902. 16mo (146 x 116mm). Frontispiece in color and 15 plates. Original pink paperboards with a line drawing of three mice sewing on the front cover. Condition: light uniform toning at edges, few spots at fore-edge; endpapers and pastedowns lightly foxed, spine sunned with some light dustsoiling to covers.
first edition. privately printed and from a total edition of 500. This books differs considerably from the edition later published by Frederick Warne. It contains many more jingles and nursery rhymes as well as additional pictures. Potter herself paid for this colored printing of 500 copies. Strangeways printed the private editions of The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tailor of Gloucester.
Beatrix Potter first told the story of The Tailor of Gloucester in a letter from Beatrix to Freda Moore, daughter of her former governess, Annie Carter. The charming Christmas tale was the author’s personal favorite. Affixed to the front free endpaper is a thank you note to Potter’s first biographer Margaret Lane from Leslie Linder, who decoded Potter’s secret writing, March 19, 1966; he gives the same message in Potter’s secret code in another note on the facing endpaper. Osborne I. 379; Linder 420; Quinby 3.

$3000 – $4000

214. DAHL, Roald (1916 - 1990) and [Ray BOLGER, association]. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory New York: Alfred A. Knopf, [1964]. 4to. Illustrated by Joseph Schindelman. Original cloth, in original printed dust jacket. Condition: some light dust soiling; jacket lightly toned. Provenance: Ray Bolger (dedication from the author on the front-free endpaper).
first edition; ray bolger's copy. Signed 'Roald Dahl love' in ink for the actor Ray Bolger on the front-free endpaper. Later printing (five lines instead of six at the end of the colophon).
The American editon of this modern children’s classic preceded the British by three years. It is likely that Dahl met Bolger, the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, when he was writing in Hollywood.
[With:] GALLICO, Paul. The Snow Goose. Small 8vo. Original blue cloth in original printed dust jacket. signed copy to ray and gwen bolger, inscribed 'affectionately, Paul Gallico' to the front-free endpapers. Condition: some slight toning, minor chips to jacket. (2)

$2000 – $3000

Permanent Link
215. DAHL, Roald (1916 - 1990) A collection of correspondences between Roald Dahl and his publisher Alfred A. Knopf 1) Buckinghamshire: 26 January 1973. 1 page. Typed letter signed 'Roald' to 'Dear Alfred' on 'Gipsy House/ Great Missenden' stationery. A witty reply, Dahl talks about working with Bob Gotlieb on his last children's book and his recent trip to a spiritual healer.
2) [New York:] 22 January 1973. 1 page. Retained carbon copy of a typed letter unsigned, from 'AAK' to 'Dear Roald'. A warm letter from Knopf praising Dahl's success and talking about imminent travels.
3) Buckinghamshire: 17 April 1973. 1 page. Facsimile copy of letter from Dahl to Knopf offering praise to Gotlieb, his editor, and for Max Perkins. He speaks of some other updates and on his new books, "I now have four of them toward a new collection- maybe 40, 000 words. Two or three more would do it. But you know, these damn children's books are such fun to do, they get you by the throat."
4) [New York:] 27 April 1973. 1 page. Retained carbon copy of a typed letter, unsigned, from 'AAK' to 'Dear Roald'. Knopf agrees with Dahl that Gotlieb's work is good, and that he has 'never found his display distasteful'.
5) Buckinghamshire: 22 September 1975. 1 page. Typed letter signed 'Roald' to 'Dear Alfred'. Dahl relays that he would be pleased to meet Susan Sheehan, Knopf's biographer, when she comes to London. Dahl recommends reading Danny.
6) [New York:] 3 October 1975. 1 page. Retained carbon copy of a typed letter, unsigned, from 'AAK' to 'Dear Roald'. A brief, but warm, note, Knopf says he intends to read Danny.
7) Buckinghamshire: 13 May 1980. 1 page. Typed letter signed 'Roald' to 'Dear Alfred' on 'Gipsy House/ Great Missenden' stationery. A note in witty tone, Dahl bemoans about working under the contract for Random House but reluctantly agrees to creating the three new books, 'I am doing it and that will be that.'
8) [New York:] 6 June 1980. 1 page. Retained carbon copy of a typed letter unsigned, but from Knopf, to 'Dear Roald'. Knopf relates to Dahl's displeasure with his publishers and continues on to discuss his publicizing of Dahl's 'My Uncle Oswald' (1979).
9) Buckinghamshire: 22 August 1980. 1 1/4 pages. Typed letter signed 'Love, Roald' to 'Dear Alfred' on 'Gipsy House/ Great Missenden' stationery. Dahl catches up with recent news. He writes, 'I now have three more children's books completed and sitting with Bob Gottlieb. Two have already been illustrated and are on the road to publication. The third called 'Dirty Beasts' which is a books of verse and is my favourite, is waiting for an illustrator…'
10) [New York:] 6 October 1980. 1 1/4 pages. Retained carbon copy of a typed letter unsigned, but from 'AAK' to 'Dear Roald'. Knopf speaks about common friends in the industry and talks about his publishing career as of late. (10)

$1000 – $1500

Permanent Link
216. DAHL, Roald (1916 - 1990) The Witches New York: Farrar, Straus Giroux, [1983]. 8vo (235 x 155mm). Pictures by Quentin Blake. Original blue cloth stamped in red metallic to front cover and spine, the De Luxe edition in the yellow slipcase. Condition: minimal dustsoiling, slipcase slightly stained. Provenance: 'Plymouth Mass/ March 18, 86' (inscribed in ink to rear pastedown).
limited de luxe edition signed by both the author and the illustrator. Numbered copy 68 of an overall limited edition of 300 The novel won the 1983 Whitbread Award (“funny, wise, deliciously disgusting, a real book for children”) and was made into a popular feature film by Nicolas Roeg in 1990. It has also been the frequent target of censorship and appears on the American Library Assiciation’s 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books.

$500 – $600

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217. DISNEY, Walt (1901 - 1966) Huey Hand-painted celluloid (235 x 207 mm). Animation cel of nephew Huey featured in the 1938 cartoon Donald's Golf Game.
Still in its original matte and frame, complete with its original Courvoisier background and indentifying tag. This painting is one of a select few that were released to art collectors; the remainder were destroyed.

$5000 – $8000

Permanent Link
218. DISNEY, Walt (1901 - 1966) Walt Disney’s version of Pinocchio. New York: Random House, [1939]. 41ff. Illustrated. Spiral-bound beige cloth with pictorial label. Condition: rubbing to spine ends and some minor water stains on the early leaves.
a presentation copy, inscribed in pencil on the copyright page, “To Barbara O’Connor with my best wishes Walt Disney.” numbered copy 77 of 100.
There had been a previous printing of 100 copies for America and another 100 for Great Britain. This book was issued to establish Disney’s copyright of elements of the production of Pinocchio a year prior to its release in the theaters. It contains the continuity script plus 29 pages of reproductions of storyboards and model sheets for Disney’s second animated feature film. Some of the characters did not make it into the final cut of the picture. Barbara O’Connor was probably the daughter of Pinocchio’s Art Director Kendall O’Connor.

$5000 – $8000

Permanent Link
219. DISNEY, Walt -- Studios Jiminy Cricket Original animation drawing in pencil (147 x 130 mm). Framed.
Drawing was used in the 1940 animated Disney feature Pinocchio Disney animator Ward Kimball was the creator of Jiminy, who became the first Disney feature character to speak directly to the audience.

$4000 – $6000

246. SEUSS, Dr. [Theodor Seuss Geisel] (1904 - 1991) The Cat in the Hat New York: Random House, 1957. Small 8vo. [62] pp. Decorated matte boards in dust jacket, the price on the front flap of the dust jacket is “200/200.” Condition: minimal wear. Younger/ Hirsch 7.
first edition. When John Hersey challenged Dr. Seuss in Life (May 24, 1954) to create a reader that was not as boring as the popular Dick and Jane textbooks, Ted Geisel responded with The Cat in the Hat (1957), the first of his Beginner Books. He based his verse primarily on a limited elementary school vocabulary list and played with rhymes of words with one syllable. The book was an immediate success, but most copies were read to pieces. Few have come on the market in this nice condition with the dust jacket intact.
[With:] Copy of the second printing in dust jacket: three signatures in decorated glossy boards; the price on the front flap of the dust jacket is “195/195.” [And:] A copy of the Hebrew edition of the sequel The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (1958). (3)

$5000 – $8000

322. SENDAK, Maurice (b. 1928) Where the Wild Things Are Photolithographs (each 265 x 525 mm). signed in ink. Complete set of four prints from Where the Wild Things Are, New York: Harper & Row, 1963.
Prints are reproduced in the exact size of the original watercolors in the Maurice Sendak Collection at the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia. (4)

$2000 – $3000

323. SENDAK, Maurice (b. 1928) Wild Thing Balloon Two watercolors (each 220 x 170 mm). Executed for the front and back of the Wild Thing Balloon for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; with two pencil studies for the balloon. .both signed and dated 'july-august 1998'. Together four works framed together.
exceptional watercolors of the most famous creature in Sendak’s classic picture book Where the Wild Things Are (1963). One drawing is annotated “The tail is not properly placed--as you can see!” (2)

$35000 – $45000

And that's just a selection - there are lots more in the catalogue available from the Bloomsbury site - see link above or to the left.

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Enid Blyton First Edition Books

Enid Blyton First Editions - A Good Investment?

Before J K Rowling there was Enid Blyton, the most prolific writer of children's books ever, with 750 books to her credit. Her books, which include the Famous Five series (21 books), the Secret Seven series (15 books), and Noddy plus many more, have sold over 600 million copies worldwide and been translated into nearly 90 languages and is the fifth most translated author ever.

Enid Blyton was born at 354 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London, England, on 11 August 1897. She was the eldest child of Thomas Blyton, a cutlery salesman, and Theresa Harrison. She had two younger brothers, Hanly and Carey. She was educated at St. Christopher's School in Beckenham, being an excellent pupil and leaving as Head Girl.

She had however a strange life in which she appeared to be more interested in her work and her fans than her family and her own children. Over time her books were also surrounded by a certain amount of controversy as they were judged too simple, racist or anti-working class. But you can find out about all that on Wikipedia or http://www.enidblyton.net/. Here I am more concerned with Enid Blyton First Editions.

It has to be said that the prices of First Editions of Enid Blyton's books, given her popularity as a children's author, and the fact that she still sells 8 million copies a year over 40 years after her death, are relatively low.

The most expensive on Abebooks is Five on a Treasure Island published in 1942 by Hodder and Stoughton, which is being offered at a price of £3750 (approx. $6000) by a bookseller in Leicester. This may seem a lot but compare it to the highest priced J K Rowling - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - which is on offer for £40,000 ($66,000) and it doesn't seem like so much after all.

It could be that with the recent BBC film about the life of Enid Blyton and the 50th anniversary of her death only 9 years away, that prices will increase so it might be worth a gamble as a long-term punt or an investment for the kids !

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J K Rowling First Editions

Angie Sage's Septimus Heap the Next Harry Potter?

Princess Diana French President Giscard

First Edition Books - The Princess and the President by Valery Giscard d'Estaing

In one of the most extraordinary literary developments in recent years, the former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing has written a novel about a love affair between an unhappy British princess, who bears a striking resemblance to Princess Diana, and a French President.

(French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing and Princess Diana - in Versailles in 1994 - Capture)

La Princesse et le President - wiil be published by Éditions de Fallois-XO (The Princess and the President) in October but already people are speculating whether the story is is fact or fantasy.

Giscard d'Estaing, French President from 1974-1981, gives his fictional President the name of Jacques-Henri Lambertye, and names the heroine Princess Patricia of Cardiff, "a town in Wales."

The pair meet at Buckingham Palace and the princess reveals her sad plight to the French President and embark upon a passionate affair. Is Giscard, who met Princess Diana in 1994, in Versailles, living out the fantasy of a secret liaison?

"A dozen days before my wedding, my future husband came and told me that he had a mistress and that he had to decided to carry on seeing her after our marriage," says Princess Pat, in a confession very similar to the situation that existed between Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

The book contains much wishful thinking but has fuelled rumours that the tale might be true by penning a cryptic inscription in the book: "Promise kept." It also contains the strange phrase in English "I wish that you love me". I say strange because it doesn't make a lot of sense in English and it is hard to believe that an English person would use that exact phrase, except perhaps in response to the question "What do you wish?".

He ends the book by writing "You asked my permission for you to write your story," she told me. "I give you it, but you must make me a promise ..."

Le Figaro expects the book to cause a stir. No doubt both the royal family and Mr Al Fayed will be reading it closely.

Only Giscard d'Estaing holds the key to whether it is fiction or reality says Le Figaro.
Giscard was 55 when he lost power and photographs show that he met Diana publicly in the years after his election defeat.

One Reuters picture her smiling delightedly at Giscard.

As is well-known, Diana died in a car crash under the Pont de l'Alma in Paris in 1997 with her boyfriend, Dodi al Fayed. According to media reports Giscard and his wife were the first to send flowers to the hospital where her body was taken.

The book is bound to cause a stir when it is published on 1st October to say the least perhaps an almighty ruckus so it might be worth grabbing yourself a copy or two of the first edition, signed by Mr Giscard d'Estaing if at all possible (although book signings are not so well-known in France).

Brown Lost Symbol First Editions

First Edition Books - Dan Brown The Lost Symbol - A Good Investment?

Dan Brown's latest book and no doubt soon-to-be best-seller The Lost Symbol goes on sale tomorrow and according to the hype is expected to put Washington on the map (for those who don't know where Washington is already). So these are the first edition of the book - but are they likely to represent a good investment?

In the book Robert Langdon, Dan Brown's Harvard symbiologist, dashes around the Capitol in a 12-hour battle against a muscular tattooed eunuch. He is assisted in his epic battle by the wise Dr Katherine Solomon, a Noetic scientist (a noetic scientist is supposed to explore the nature and potentials of consciousness through the application of multiple ways of knowing — including (but not limited to) intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses) (isn't that what we all do?).

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol was reviewed today in The New York Times, under the dysnoetic title "Fasten Your Seat Belts, There's Code to Crack". The reviewer Janet Maslin suggests Dan Brown fans will not be disappointed. She says that Dan Brown has avoided the trap of following a huge hit by a flopping embarrassment, stating that he is "bringing sexy back to a genre that had been left for dead." - not sure what she means but it sounds good.

For the record it was Maslin's uncharacteristically rave review for The Da Vinci Code which helped propel it to the top of the bestseller charts.

The Da Vinci Code made Brown a household name and has sold over 80 million copies in 44 languages. No doubt The Lost Symbol will also be a great success and I suppose we can expect a film to follow.

In The Lost Symbol Langdon heads for the Capitol building, where he has been invited to speak by Peter Solomon, Katherine's brother. Maslin summarizes as follows [skip the next few sentences if you don't want to know ] : "And here comes Mr Brown’s first neat trick: The Solomon summons was fake. There’s no audience waiting"

"Just as Langdon realises he has been lured to Washington under a false pretext, a shriek arises from the Rotunda. Some fiend has deposited Peter Solomon’s severed, tattooed hand right above the Capitol Crypt — and right below the dome art that depicts George Washington, founding father and Freemason, as an ascending deity."

Is the Lost Symbol, published by Random House, likely to be a good investment as a first edition - well the initial print run is 5 million so really not much rarity value there. But you could always try and pick up a signed copy or two for the cover price - and lock them away for a few years.

The book is however expected to boost sales of the Amazon Kindle ebook reader as users download the electronic version instead of getting the real thing.

The Digital Fortress

As far as first editions go you will probably be better advised to try and find a signed copy of a first edition of Dan Brown's first novel Digital Fortress - the cheapest one I've seen on Abebooks is $950 for a copy with a signed bookplate and $1450 for a copy signed directly to the title page. But a search through auction sites may turn up cheaper copies.

The cheapest signed first editions of the Da Vinci Code appears to be around $200 but again a more extensive search might throw up more.

Tolkien Sigurd Gudrun First Edition

First Edition Books - Collectible First Editions - The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún by J R RTolkien

The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is a work written by J.R.R. Tolkien, before he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, while he was Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University during the 1920s and ‘30s. It was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in May 2009 and a special first edition copy has now been made available by Hatchard's for £60.

The Hatchard's first edition (not the copy in the photograph) is a deluxe collector's edition which has the first edition text and a facsimile page of Tolkien's original manuscript. The edition is quarterbound in brown with grey boards and includes a gold motif of Sigurd's horse, Grani, stamped on the front board. It has been printed on superior quality paper and includes a silk ribbon bookmarker, with matching slipcase.

It includes an introduction by J.R.R. Tolkien, from one of his own lectures on Norse literature, with notes and commentary on the poems by Christopher Tolkien.

Tolkien fans the wolrd over will want to take a closer look at this special edition.

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$19K for Harry Potter Book

First Edition Books - Harry Potter Book Sells for $19,120

Collectibles and Collectables - Rare Harry Potter Book Auction

Dallas auction house Heritage Auction Galleries has reported that a copy of the first Harry Potter paperback book has been sold for just over $19,120.

"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (sold as the Sorcerer's Stone in the US) had a first print run of only 200 copies with illustrated wrappers by publisher Bloomsbury. The 1997 work includes an illustrated card signed by author J. K. Rowling.

The winning bid of $19,120 was almost double the previous highest price paid for a softcover Harry Potter book. The bidder was collector from Dubai whose wife is a Harry Potter fan.

This is the description from the auction catalogue :

"J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. [London]: Bloomsbury, [1997]."

"First edition, with all first issue points including "Joanne Rowling" and "Thomas Taylor1997" (no space before year) on copyright page, along with the complete number sequence "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1." Twelvemo. 223 pages."

"This, the first book in the Harry Potter series, was issued simultaneously in both hardcover and softcover. This softcover copy is in the original pictorial stiff wrappers. The pages have toned lightly as is common with this title; otherwise there are no creases to the covers or spine, and the binding is tight. A fine copy of Rowling's first book. Mounted inside the back cover is a card featuring the front cover artwork, signed by J. K. Rowling."

"Reputedly only 300 hardcover and 200 softcover copies of Rowling's first book were printed, and nearly all of these went to schools and libraries. Considering that many of Rowling's later books were printed in first edition runs numbering in the millions, the rarity of this volume - the book that launched a cultural phenomenon - is extraordinarily significant. Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000."

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling contains 7 volumes, the last of which was published author in 2007 and has sold over 300 million copies. If you are looking for a Harry Potter book to buy as an investment then bear in mind that it is very unlikely that the recent volumes will ever command such prices. The copies you need to find are signed first editions of the very first book in the series. Good luck.

Alternatively you can try and spot the next Harry Potter. You need a book with a cult following that had a very limited first print run because the author was unknown but is fast becoming famous. An early signed Eragon written by Paolini and self-published by Paolini might be one such example, but sof ar his books have not risen to the heights of J K Rowling's books. (He was not helped by the film which by all accounts was not very good). A quick look on Abebooks gives prices for signed Eragons of between $500 and $9,000. Another possibility may be Angie Sage's Magyk also published by Bloomsbury and a film of which is being made.

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