Three rare Harry Potter first edition books salvaged from skip by teacher expected to sell for thousands
THREE incredibly rare Harry Potter first editions salvaged from a skip are likely to sell for thousands at auction.
A teacher retrieved them after they were chucked out in a tidy-up at her school.
She kept them for 12 years — unaware they were worth thousands, partly because they contain printing errors.
They include a hardback of JK Rowling’s debut Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone — one of only 500 in the first print run in 1997 — expected to fetch at least £12,000.
Two paperbacks of the story each have a guide price of £2,000 to £3,000.
The 65-year-old seller, who taught in Buckinghamshire, did not want to be named — but said: “I love books and it just seemed awful to throw them away.
“I thought they might be useful for my grandchildren.
“At the time, I had no idea they were of any value, and neither did the school.
“I took the books home and they ended up in the loft.
"Then about four years ago my son told me he thought the books might be valuable.
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"He investigated and a London business offered £4,000 for one of the paperbacks there and then. But they just went back into the loft.”
Jim Spencer, books expert at Hansons Auctioneers, Derbys, said: “Hardback first editions of Philosopher’s Stone are as rare as hens’ teeth.”
The online auction is on May 21.
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