553 First Edition Harry Potter Books Up for Auction
BooksWhile many Harry Potter fans have several copies of the beloved books in various forms and languages, one fan is selling his rather impressive collection: all 553 first edition copies in 63 languages to be exact. The Times reports tonight that a 33 year old Harry Potter fan who began collecting the first edition novels in a variety of languages back in 2002 will be auctioning off his entire collection on February 28. Bloomsbury Auctions who will be conducting the sale, says “No one has ever amassed such a collection of international editions. There’s no auction precedent for it.” The highly coveted first editions of the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling are expected to sell for at least £40,000. UPDATE: The Mirror is reporting that the fan, Tim Toone, has copies of the books including editions in “Braille, Latin and Ancient Greek versions – and there is even a first edition of The Philosopher’s Stone in the obscure language of West Frisian from Holland. Copies were sent to him from countries including India, China and the Faroe Islands and it took nine calls to a publisher in India to get every first edition in Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam and Urdu.The most Mr Toone spent on a book was £4,500. Spookily, the only book missing – a promotional copy of The Chamber of Secrets – is so rare experts doubt it actually exists.”
Anyone willing to loan me $80,000?