A first edition of JK Rowling's book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" has been sold for a record price, Texas-based Heritage Auctions said.
The book fetched 471,000 dollars at auction on Thursday, the highest price ever paid for the boy wizard's debut in any form, the auction house said.
"And not only is the most expensive Harry Potter book ever sold, it's the most expensive commercially published 20th-century work of fiction ever sold," Heritage Auctions executive vice president Joe Maddalena said in a statement.
Just 500 hardback copies of the book were printed, with most going to public libraries. The few copies that have surfaced at auction have become among the most coveted titles in modern literature, with two others selling in 2021 for more than 138,000 dollars, Maddalena said.
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was brought to life on the big screen two decades ago, and this result shows the power of that combination of literature and cinema. These books are being rewarded for the results of their films."
Other rare books under the hammer included first editions of all seven of CS Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" titles, JRR Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and a signed first edition of Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird".
