# Is "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" by J.K. Rowling (as 'Joanne Rowling') a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling (as 'Joanne Rowling') (Bloomsbury, 1997) is identified by: Bloomsbury, London, 1997 hardback — only about 500 copies (roughly 300 to libraries, 200 to the trade). The Bloomsbury London 1997 hardback is the true first and the cornerstone issue for collectors.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Bloomsbury, London, 1997 hardback — only about 500 copies (roughly 300 to libraries, 200 to the trade)
- The two DECISIVE first-printing points are:
- the full number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the copyright page; and
- the Hogwarts equipment list on page 53, where '1 wand' is printed twice — once mid-list and again as the final line — a duplication corrected after the first printing
- Supporting features on the earliest issue: the rear cover misspells the title as 'Philospher's' (missing the second 'o'); the copyright credit reads 'Joanne Rowling'; 'Thomas Taylor1997' is set without a space; a Wendy Cooling blurb appears on the front cover
- Thomas Taylor's wraparound art shows Harry before the Hogwarts Express; and the copyright page shows only '1997'
- Publisher imprint reads Bloomsbury

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | J.K. Rowling (as 'Joanne Rowling') |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury |
| Year | 1997 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Bloomsbury, London, 1997 hardback — only about 500 copies (roughly 300 to libraries, 200 to the trade) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Bloomsbury, London, 1997 hardback — only about 500 copies (roughly 300 to libraries, 200 to the trade). The two DECISIVE first-printing points are: (1) the full number line '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on the copyright page; and (2) the Hogwarts equipment list on page 53, where '1 wand' is printed twice — once mid-list and again as the final line — a duplication corrected after the first printing. Supporting features on the earliest issue: the rear cover misspells the title as 'Philospher's' (missing the second 'o'); the copyright credit reads 'Joanne Rowling'; 'Thomas Taylor1997' is set without a space; a Wendy Cooling blurb appears on the front cover; Thomas Taylor's wraparound art shows Harry before the Hogwarts Express; and the copyright page shows only '1997'. Note that the 'Philospher's' misspelling and the 'Joanne Rowling' credit also appear on the second printing, so a true first rests on the 10-to-1 number line TOGETHER WITH the duplicated '1 wand' on p.53.

## Is this the true first?
The Bloomsbury London 1997 hardback is the true first and the cornerstone issue for collectors. The first US edition is Scholastic / Arthur A. Levine, New York, 1998, retitled 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' — a separate, later edition, not a precedence rival to the UK book. The Bloomsbury first-issue paperback (also 1997) carries the same '1 wand' / number-line points and is far more commonly available than the hardback.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Second and later Bloomsbury printings show a number line that no longer begins at 10 and ends at 1, and correct the duplicated '1 wand' on p.53. The US 'Sorcerer's Stone' is a different title and imprint, not a state of the UK book. Beware later book-club and gift printings and, above all, facsimile or supplied dust jackets married to a hardback — the jacket must be examined as closely as the text block.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone* by J.K. Rowling (as 'Joanne Rowling') a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/harry-potter-and-the-philosophers-stone
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.