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MODERN LITERATURE, ART AND HISTORY
Lot 166

ROWLING (J.K.)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, UNCORRECTED PROOF, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR, Bloomsbury, [1998]

1 December 2021, 12:00 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £9,562.50 inc. premium

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ROWLING (J.K.)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, UNCORRECTED PROOF, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR "To Tommy and Davey (whose mum I know) J.K. Rowling (Fred & George Weasley?)" on the dedication leaf (with printed word "Dedication" circled and with an arrow pointing towards the inscription below), publisher's blue and white wrappers, some creases and light soiling, 8vo, Bloomsbury, [1998]

Footnotes

FINE ASSOCIATION COPY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR TO "FRED & GEORGE WEASLEY?" OF THE RARE UNCORRECTED PROOF OF THE AUTHOR'S SECOND BOOK. It was whilst writing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that Rowling receeved a bursary of £8000 from the Scottish Arts Council, supplementing the small advance she had been given by her publisher at a time when the Harry Potter phenomenon was very much in its infancy. The inscription is written on the otherwise blank dedication leaf.

It is thought that approximately 300 copies of this proof edition were printed, Errington noting that "Bloomsbury is unable to provide accurate figures and has merely suggested between 200 and 300 copies".

Provenance: Inscribed by the author "to Tommy and Davey.... Fred & George Weasley", the two eldest sons of Jenny Brown who, from 1996 to 2002, was the Literature Director for the Scottish Arts Council. "Her work for the Council included a programme of financial aid for new writers of children's fiction; the first person to apply was the then unpublished J K Rowling; the Arts Council's initial bursary supported the creation of Harry Potter" (University of St. Andrews, Laureation Address, June 2018, website); sold by the family.

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