'Rarest' Harry Potter book survived Glasgow fire

A special 15th-anniversary edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was created in 2012 as a competition prize, signed and dedicated by author JK Rowling.

Only 15 copies were made and one of them was won by Carina Haouchine, who was a runner-up in a contest she entered when she was 15 years old.

Carina Haouchine (Image: Carina Haouchine)

Book publisher Bloomsbury asked entrants to write a letter to convey why they loved Harry Potter and Carina's artistic entry, which included a drawing of Harry, Ron and Hermione, impressed the judges. 

She has had the book ever since and, despite the Glasgow tenement she lived in being devastated by a fire earlier this year, the 'pristine' copy survived and it is ready to go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers' library Auction.

The 26-year-old said: “The book was kept hidden away in my childhood bedroom and then in the storage cupboard of my tenement flat in Glasgow.

"The tenement actually experienced a tragic fire at the beginning of the year. Thankfully nobody was injured but it is now uninhabitable. I’m very grateful the book survived!

“The ground floor of the building and stairwell were badly damaged but my flat, which was on the second floor, wasn't affected - including the cupboard where the book was stored.”

Harry Potter holds a special place in Carina's heart, and she believes it inspired her when she was a child to develop her career as a documentary filmmaker.

She said: “I grew up with my mum reading me the Harry Potter books and the release of the film series sparked my passion for film.

"I am now a filmmaker and I've no doubt that the Harry Potter world played a part in that.

"At the time of the competition, it was the passion of my little brothers that kept it alive in me. In recent years it has become less important to me but it still makes me nostalgic to look back on it.

“I am selling now because I recently got engaged to my girlfriend so the money from the sale would be very helpful to put towards our wedding and future.”

Experts at Hansons believe the book will fetch somewhere between £8000 and £12,000 when it goes under the hammer on September 5.

It comes after the auctioneers sold the first known copy last year, which was also owned by a competition entrant.

Carina's competition letter (Image: Hansons)

Jim Spencer, head of Hansons’ Library Auction, said: "This is technically the rarest edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

"Only 15 copies were produced and they were never offered for sale. It's not recorded in the invaluable JK Rowling bibliography by Philip W Errington, which proves how scarce it is.

“In fact, until last year, the public had no idea what this book even looked like because there was no visual record of its existence online.

"None of the competition winners had shared images, there was really only a brief record of the competition itself.

“That changed last year when Hansons Auctioneers sold the first known copy of one of these for Chloe Esslemont, who was also a runner-up in the Bloomsbury competition.

"That was the only known copy to have surfaced, let alone be offered for sale. It achieved £8,000.

“All of this emphasises the importance of this book and what a truly magical opportunity is in store for all Potterheads.

"The market is flooded with convincing forgeries of Rowling's signature, so this is a golden opportunity to buy a signed book with absolute confidence in its authenticity."

He continued: “Adding to the appeal of the book, we have the original competition entry, a really charming portrait of the three main characters, and you've got to love the hand-carved wand.

"I catalogue books and manuscripts going right back to the medieval period, so I'm always conscious of posterity and how things will be perceived in the future.

"I predict that 100 years from now, this book, and the fan art that accompanies it, will be displayed in a museum.

“Not only did it survive the fire, it is an immaculate find. It comes with its original padded envelope from Bloomsbury and is in fine, unread condition.”