About us
Winters Rare Books is a specialized high-end bookstore located in the beautiful city of Gouda in the Netherlands. The bookshop is owned by long-time collector of children's books Jan Maliepaard.
Appreciation for the Harry Potter series prompted Jan to focus on the work of J.K. Rowling at an early stage. Over the past two decades he has built the largest bookdealer collection of rare and signed Harry Potter books in mainland Europe.
We work very closely with Adam Houston of www.theharrypotterspecialist.com, the only J.K. Rowling signature specialist in the world. Jan's commitment to safeguarding the booktrade is evident from the fact that he tracked down the world's most prominent forger of J.K. Rowling signatures, resulting in a documentary for Dutch national television. This remarkable story is covered in the May 2024 issue of The Rowling Library Magazine.
As a specialized dealer, Jan can expertly and effectively help you establish and complete your own rare J.K. Rowling collection.
Uncovering the forger
The story of the unmasking of the top forger of J.K. Rowling's signature.