Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Identifying First Edition Points of Issue

To see first edition information on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone click the title link.

First UK Edition Trade Cover

You can search for first editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone on AbeBooks.com, eBay.com, Biblio.com and Amazon.com -These links will take you directly to search results for 1st edition copies copies for sale on the respective sites.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling - First edition points of issue.

Pages: 223

Price: ?

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Date Published: July 1997

ISBN: 0-7475-3269-9

Copyright Page: Has the statement First Edition and a full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, subsequent editions drop a number but keep the statement First Edition.

First Edition Total Publication: Disputed some believe 350 hard covers and 150 paperback proofs, Publisher states 500 hard covers and 150 paperback proofs.

First Edition Points of Issue:  The First Edition has the full number line of 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the copyright page, and was issued without a dust jacket. It has illustrated boards by Thomas Taylor. This illustration was carried onto a dust jacket that was issued starting with the third printing.

Size: 8 1/4 x 5 1/2

Bound: Hard cover with illustrated boards, no dust jacket.

Dedication: For Jessica, who loves stories,
for Anne, who loved them too,
and for Di, who heard this one first.

Limited or Special Editions:

First Deluxe Cover

Collectors Deluxe Edition: Published by Bloomsbury, November 1999, 12,000 copies published. First edition has a full number line of 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 printed on the copyright page. Red cloth boards, no dust jacket issued.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by  J.K. Rowling Identifying First Edition Points of Issue

First US Trade Edition Cover

You can search for first editions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on AbeBooks.com, eBay.com, Biblio.com and Amazon.com - These links will take you directly to search results for 1st edition copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling on the respective sites.

US First Edition: This book was released in the US (after the UK edition) as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

ISBN: 9781122465199

Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic Press

Location: New York, NY

Copyright: 1998

Binding: Red cloth spine with purple boards with an embossed diamond pattern.

Original List Price: $16.95

Pages: 309

Points of Issue: The copyright page has a full number line of “1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 8 9/9 0/0 01 02”. and "Printed in the U.S.A. 23",  "First American edition, October 1998."  Please Note that there are book club editions on the market with the correct number sequence on the copyright page, but they are in plain black boards.  The First American Edition statement is on later printings as well so the cover pattern and full number line are the key identifying points.

The dust jacket back has a white bar code field with two bar codes, the smaller bar code states "51695". The dust jacket back has a single quote from the Guardian saying “Harry Potter could assume the near-legendary status of Ronald Dahl's Charlie, of chocolate factory fame.” Later issue dust jackets have a substitute quote from Publishers Weekly.

There is no volume number on the spine of the dust jacket, and the lettering is slightly raised. The book club edition dust jacket is readily identifiable, in that the lettering is not raised and does not have the price on the dust jacket or the corresponding number over the bar code.

Description: Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That's because he's being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he's really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny.

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