These editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone are fetching thousands because of a typo

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It’s time to raid your cupboard for your Harry Potter books again, because one of them could be worth over £20,000 at auction because it’s just a little bit wrong.

A first edition of Philosopher's Stone with a rare error - one of only 500 hardback copies in which “1 wand” is repeated twice in Harry’s list of Hogwarts school supplies - is expected to reach as much as £26,000 when it is sold at Bonhams Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale in London on 9 November.

The passage with the typo appears in the editions on page 53.

“As the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone has a special place in the affections of the millions of readers across the world and the proof reading error about the wand in the first edition has, of course, become a treasured piece of Harry Potter arcana.” commented Bonhams’ Head of Books and Manuscripts (sounds like a Hogwarts professor) Matthew Haley.

“Like most enduring books aimed at younger readers, the Harry Potter books also have wide appeal to adults and there is a strong market among collectors for first editions.

“This copy is in excellent condition — one of the very best I’ve seen — and we’re expecting a lot of interest.”

First published in 1997, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (‘Sorceror’s Stone’ in the U.S) has sold over 400 million copies worldwide.