The auction this coming Wednesday of seven first editions of Harry Potter books - and more crucially their sale estimates - shows the strength of the market in children’s books.
Sotheby’s New York expect individual copies to make from US$10,000 up to $75,000 (£5,789-£43,420) because of their provenance, condition and dedications.
The sale provides a timely reminder of the financial as well as sentimental value to be had from investing in children’s classics.
The multi-millionaire author of Harry Potter books, JK Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh and Perthshire, has dedicated each of the books which are being sold by her father Peter.
The family link is expected to boost prices astronomically. For the first paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, inscribed by Rowling to her father and stepmother, "with lots of love, Jo", the auctioneers expect $10,000-$15,000 (£5,789-£8,683) even though they note creasing, a slightly cocked spine and lamination lifting in places.
The star lot is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - published just three years ago - offered with its pictorial dust-jacket. Rowling’s inscription hints at the inspiration for Ron Weasley, one of the book’s main characters; estimate: $50,000-$75,000 (£28,946-£43,420).
Dr Philip Errington, one of Sotheby’s specialists, says there is "transatlantic interest in children’s books", adding that a dedication from the author can usually double the value.
Not all material reaches the price heights of the Rowling books. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is regarded by many as the first true American fairy tale. Published in Chicago in 1900, a first edition is to be sold at Sotheby’s in London next Thursday (estimate: £2,000-£3,000).
The stories by Roald Dahl appeal to a wide readership. Without dedications, titles such as James and the Giant Peach or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, both from the 1970s, sell for £20-£30 each - but with dedications and some wear, expect to pay £250-£350.
For parents and grandparents considering buying a more unusual stocking filler this Christmas, John Carter’s ABC for Book Collectors is a most useful guide. It lists some nine categories of condition, but most dealers and auctioneers work on four overall terms: fine, good, fair and poor.
If Charles Dodgson, better known as Lewis Carroll, appeals, a first edition of Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there, inscribed and dated 1871, comes under the hammer next Thursday (estimate: £2,000-£3,000).
First editions can make good investments, and prices are rising. In 1996 a first edition of Dodgson’s Rhyme? and Reason? made $1,200 (£695) in New York, but if inscribed can now sell for £3,000-£5,000.
Dust jackets can add greatly to value. Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows sells for £1,200-£1,500 in its 1908 first edition if in fairly good condition. However, when a copy sold with its dust jacket in 1998, the price rocketed to £39,000.
Rudyard Kipling’s first editions of The Jungle Book from 1894 have doubled in price in five years and now regularly command £1,200. The House at Pooh Corner by AA Milne in its original olive green pictorial roan gilt with illustrations by EH Shepard from 1928 were selling for £600-£800 ten years ago and can now cost £1,500.
Books by Philip Pullman are the "flavour of the month", according to Errington. With a current National Theatre production and films based on the books due shortly, prices should continue skywards. He expects the trilogy His Dark Materials - Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass - in their first editions with dust jackets and inscribed, coming with a signed letter, to make £3,000-£4,000 next week.
JRR Tolkien’s books with dust jackets continue to be in demand, with the new films no doubt helping. A first edition of the 1937 The Hobbit was £2,000-£3,000 five years ago and now sells for £5,000-£7,000, while a copy of The Lord of the Rings from 1954-55 has risen from £2,200 four years ago to £5,000 now.
• Contacts: Sotheby’s 0131 226 7201/0141 221 4817.
[© Scotsman, 06/12/03]
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