One of the first ever copies of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The original watercolor illustration for the first edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” — the book that introduced the world to the young bespectacled wizard — sold for $1.9 million on Wednesday.

The artwork becomes “the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold at auction,” auction house Sotheby’s said in a statement.

“The illustration was chased by four bidders on the phone and online for nearly ten minutes before selling to applause.”

The work by Thomas Taylor, who was just 23 years old in 1997 when he painted the iconic image of the young boy with the lightning bolt scar and the round glasses, had been expected to fetch between $400,000 and $600,000 at Sotheby’s.

Taylor was working at a children’s bookstore in Cambridge, England, when he was tapped by publisher Barry Cunningham at Bloomsbury to paint the image for J.K. Rowling’s book, which was to be released in London on June 26, 1997.

He was one of the first people to read the book, getting an early copy of the manuscript to inform his artwork, according to Sotheby’s books specialist Kalika Sands.

“So, he knew about the world before anybody else, and it was really up to him to think of how he visualized Harry Potter,” Sands told AFP ahead of the auction.

Rowling and Taylor were unknown when the book was released, and few expected it would become a global phenomenon. Only 500 copies of the first edition were printed, and 300 of them were sent to libraries, according to Sotheby’s.

But the book soon became a runaway bestseller.

Twenty-seven years later, the so-called “Potterverse” features Rowling’s seven original books, a blockbuster film franchise, a critically acclaimed stage play and video games.

More than 500 million copies of the books have been sold in 80 languages.

“It’s exciting to see the painting that marks the very start of my career, decades later and as bright as ever,” Taylor, now a children’s book author and illustrator, said in a statement released by Sotheby’s.

“As I write and illustrate my own stories today, I am proud to look back on such magical beginnings,” Taylor said.

The first time the illustration was offered at auction at Sotheby’s in London in 2001, it only fetched £85,750 (about $108,500 at current exchange rates) — but only four of the books had been published at that time.

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SOTHEBY’S

A proof copy of the first Harry Potter book, which was purchased over 30 years ago for pennies at a secondhand bookshop, fetched 11,000 pounds (Rs 11.5 lakhs) at auction, as per a report in ABC News. The original edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” which is marked “uncorrected proof copy” on the cover, was purchased in 1997 for a total of 40 pence ($0.50) from a south London bookstore together with two other novels, according to British auctioneers Hanson’s.

The seller, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that she bought the book about the well-known young wizard as a “throw-in” along with other titles and neglected it for years until learning about the high prices some Potter books brought in.

On Wednesday, the book sold for 11,000 pounds at auction, with a sales premium added to make the total price 14,432 pounds. The buyer is an individual in the United Kingdom, according to the outlet. The author’s name was erroneously listed as “J A Rowling” on the copy’s inside title page rather than J.K. Rowling, according to Jim Spencer, head of books at the auction house.

“This book so deserved to do well. This proof copy is where the Harry Potter phenomenon began. This is the very first appearance in print of the first Potter novel,” Mr Spencer said.

Meanwhile, an incredibly rare Harry Potter book bought for 30 pence was sold for 10,500 pounds at an auction in July last year. The first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was one of 500 produced and was bought by a collector from Staffordshire who died earlier last year, BBC reported. The hardback copy of the book went under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers at The Lichfield Auction Centre, Fradley Park, on July 10.

Published by Bloomsbury in 1997 with a laminated board cover, the book is one of only 500 first edition first impressions and, of those, one of only 300 sent to libraries. The winning bid was placed online by a buyer from Los Angeles, according to a release by Lichfield Auction Centre. The book was estimated at 3,000 pounds to 5,000 pounds due to its ‘much-loved condition’ as an ex-library book.