Glasgow woman finds first edition Harry Potter book worth thousands

Kirsten Kane's mum was clearing out her attic in November 2022, when she found the rare copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

It had Kirsten's name written inside, so her mum asked her if she wanted to keep it.

Kirsten, 35, told the Glasgow Times: "I was looking at it, and I was thinking 'this is a first edition'.

"It was the original printing, it was one of only 500 in the entire world. It's insane."

She went through a checklist online, ticking off all of the important markers of a true original: publisher listed as Bloomsbury, copyright information as 1997, a serial number of 10987654321.

Harry's school supplies list on page 53 had wand listed twice.

Kirsten said: "As I was going through it I couldn't believe I found it - but I had written my name in it in biro.

“I try not to fixate on that too much because I can't change the past, but it was in mint condition otherwise.”

She sold the copy a few weeks later to a shop in Chelsea for a whopping £5750.

The timing of the first edition find couldn't have been more serendipitous.

Kirsten and her family were coming out of a series of tough years after she and her husband both lost their incomes over Covid.

Their daughter Rosa, now three and a half, was struggling to socialise after spending the first years of her life in lockdown.

Kirsten fantasised about finding a venue to launch her own baby and toddler club, one that would be accessible for tots like hers.

She said: "Rosa was seven months when lockdown happened and then basically didn’t see anyone for two years.

"It was really difficult for her and us. So I was taking her along to these classes and they were really, really busy or super loud.

"None of it suited her personality and it was really stressful for both of us."

Around the same time that the Harry Potter book turned up, Kirsten had been to view the perfect location for her playroom.

She said: “We didn’t have the money for it, it was not an option, but I'd seen it so I thought I'll keep that in mind for the future.”

To take on the unit at the RogArt Street Campus in the East End, Kirsten needed around £6000.

She said: "There was an auction that I could have put the book into and maybe gotten a wee bit more money, but I needed the money straight away for this.

“I didn’t want to be too greedy about it.

"I basically need £6000 to start a business, and I've just found it. It’s wild.

“So I sold the book, I moved in, and now I'm here.

"I can't get my head around it. Every morning I walk in, I can't believe this has happened."

Kirsten got the keys to the studio room on January 11 and opened Daisy and Dragon just weeks later on February 2.

She said: “I have always thought of Daisy and Dragon being a wee girl called Daisy and her imaginary friend Dragon.

“Daisy is like Rosa. She’s very, very shy. And she uses this dragon to help her be more confident.

Kirsten uses the space for toddler and baby classes as well as mixed play groups. Each toddler class is designed around a storybook theme.

Kirsten said: “Honestly, it’s been incredible. The first time I did the class I almost started crying.

“Every time I look at the booking system or I get a notification that someone has booked I can’t get over it.

“It’s completely surpassed my expectations of where I would be right now.”

Kirsten is now working on writing her own children's books to incorporate into the popular toddler classes.

She said: "The Harry Potter book has allowed me to be able to write my own books because I wouldn’t have necessarily been able to afford to."

She added: "It is quite a full circle how the book has allowed the class and the books to be written.

“We had a tough year last year, last year was a shocker, and this has fully saved me."

For more information about Daisy and Dragon, click here.