UPDATED: Rare and Unbound Pre-Publication Sheets of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” Head to Auction
Something magical is hitting the auction block – the only known complete set of unbound, folded sheets of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Going up for sale at Heritage Auctions on May 8 and 9, these rare, unbound sheets are first editions of Philosopher’s Stone, and what makes them special is their unique state: They were never trimmed, bound, or turned into the finished books that we as readers would buy. Instead, they’re in a rare pre-publication format.
Unbound sheets for “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” (Source: Heritage Auctions)
Francis Wahlgren, the auction house’s International Director of Rare Books & Manuscripts, described, “These sheets are a possibly unique survival and represent the final form of the first Harry Potter book just prior to binding.”
These sheets show the imposition of the page lay-outs on both sides of each sheet, folded and gathered into 14 quires (each 16 pages), for a total of 224 pages [the complete text], before trimming and binding, and partially perforated by the printer’s folding machine, with full margins preserved including printer’s codes, gray scales and trim marks. They also contain quire signature numbers on outer spine folds.
This newly discovered set of sheets is one of the very few pre-publication versions of the book to have appeared on the market, and the only known set of such sheets at this penultimate stage of production, and the first ever offered at auction — just prior to being bound and trimmed.”
The sheets were originally obtained by a private collector directly from a manager at the London printing company Clays Ltd, and the current owner acquired them from that collector.
The set of unbound sheets. (Source: Heritage Auctions)
In 2023, a set of unbound, uncorrected galley sheets of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone went up for sale for $275,000 in New York. And later the same year, a bound, uncorrected proof copy sold for £15,000 in England. These newly discovered unbound sheets represent a later pre-publication stage than each of those items.
Other Potter treasures that are up for grabs at the auction include signed or inscribed U.S. copies of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, all published by Arthur A. Levine Books.
This auction is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own a piece of Harry Potter publishing history, and we’ll keep you updated with the final prices that these magical pieces sell for.
UPDATE (May 9):
The unbound sheets of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone are no longer listed on the auction site and appear to have been removed without being sold.
