On the 27th anniversary of the publishing date for the first "Harry Potter" book in 1997, and with the recent headline-grabbing sales of Potter memorabilia at auction, let’s take a look at the different types of Potter collectibles, their top sales, and a bit of history behind them.
First-edition books
As we wrote in our preview for Wednesday’s sale of the original cover artwork, J.K. Rowling was famously rejected by 12 publishers before submitting her work to Bloomsbury.
A fortuitous moment involving a top publisher’s daughter reading and loving the draft of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" helped Rowling finally get her foot in the door (though, just barely). The lack of confidence in the book led to an extremely limited production of just 500 first-edition copies.
The series would go on to sell more than 600 million copies in subsequent years, and these scarce printings have emerged as the most collectible rare books of the modern era. The record sale garnered a price of $421,000 in 2021, granted, for a particularly exceptional copy.
Despite their rarity, copies surface at auction a few times a year. The next opportunity comes next month at Heritage, as a seemingly high-condition example will sell (estimate has yet to be disclosed).
There are also even rarer variants, known as the “Uncorrected Proof” copy, drawing its namesake for the mistaken typo of J.K Rowling’s name on the title page as J.A. instead. Of the scant 200 copies printed, marking the first time the story would ever appear in print, a few have surfaced for sale over the years, with Heritage selling one copy for $30,000 back in 2020, and the auction house gearing up to offer another this summer.
Cards
"Harry Potter" cards fall under the category of too good to last, as ArtBox began producing sets for the series in 2004 while going the extra mile to include film-used props, autographs and other memorabilia to create a product with staying power and a die-hard contingent of collectors.
Just two weeks ago, the undisputed “grail” of the Potter sets, a triple autograph featuring signatures from Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), sold for $40,260 at Goldin.
The sale of the PSA 8 example, one of the five PSA-graded copies in the census, marked the second-most expensive Potter card ever sold, behind another copy of the card, which sold in 2022 for almost $50,000.
Other cards from the ArtBox series, which exemplify the charm and attention to detail of the short-lived sets, include pieces of wands. One of those examples featuring Potter in a PSA 7 grade sold for $6,000 in 2022.
Props
Auction houses such as Julien’s and Propstore sell a seemingly endless supply of props attributed to the films, albeit, with varying levels of trustworthy documentation.
A “Golden Snitch” prop, attributed to the first film, sold for $26,000 at Julien’s in 2023, though the lot lacked a certificate of authenticity from Warner Bros., the prop master, or even a letter of provenance from the consignor.
Other big prop sales have come in the form of wands, such as the $87,500 paid for Potter’s first “Signature” wand used in the first film (Heritage, 2021) or the plentiful robes that sell at Julien’s and Propstore, one of the more notable being the $100,000 paid for a Potter robe from the second film.
The world of Potter props is extensive. There are the ever-present “Hogwarts Acceptance Letters” attributed to use in the first film during the memorable scene when Harry and the Dursleys find themselves inundated with hundreds (if not thousands) of envelopes.
There are two versions of these props: The first, and far more common example, is a plain envelope reminiscent of those seen in the film. These were likely one of countless simply-styled envelopes used for a mere second in the film (if at all) as it might have flown through the camera shot before one could notice. These tend to fetch a few hundred bucks.
The second and far rarer variant, identified by a real wax seal on the reverse, were likely prepped for close-up shots and therefore command a massive premium over the more common and less significant relative. One of the best copies, exhibiting an intact seal, sold for $44,800 at Julien’s in 2021.
Chair used by Rowling
Unlike the rest of the list, which highlights items that are semi-frequent visitors to the auction block, other items are one of only a few in existence. A chair used by Rowling to write the first two Harry Potter books sold for $394,000 at Heritage in 2016.
Original ink and watercolor cover art for "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
Much like the example that shattered records at auction Wednesday (created for the first book), the original cover art for the second book is also a valuable commodity, though not in the neighborhood of the Sotheby’s copy.
This example, which sold at Heritage for $13,750 in April 2015, is from the second book.
Will Stern is a reporter ane editor for cllct.