The first edition of Harry Potter was sold at auction in the United States for $471,000, setting a record for a 20th-century work of fiction.
The book was sold by an American collector who declined to reveal the identity of the buyer.
Heritage Auctions described the 1997 British hardback of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” with its vivid cover illustration as “magical, incredibly bright and so near pristine”.
According to the auction house, only 500 copies with the specific binding were printed. Pre-sale estimates of $70,000 were more than six times the final sale price.
Previously, the first editions of Harry Potter have sold for about $110,000 to $138,000.
“The book is not only the most expensive Harry Potter book ever sold, it’s also the most expensive commercially published work of fiction of the 20th century”, said Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena.