An early 18th edition paperback of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, paired with a first print hardback of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, both signed by J.K. Rowling on the dedication page at the City Varieties Music Hall in Leeds, July 1998.
The books come with documented provenance, as featured in a comprehensive article in The Star newspaper. Additionally, this set includes a very rare 'Friend of Potter' button. These buttons were distributed by Bloomsbury in early 1998 exclusively to bookstore staff for use during a signing event. According to a reliable source, fewer than 100 were issued. This button has since become a highly collectible item.
A handwritten card from the original owner, Dr. Francesca Roe, recounts her experience at the July 1998 reading and signing event in Leeds. Dr. Roe, aged eight at the time, attended the event with her parents and younger brother, Max.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is in near fine condition. The boards are bright and unfaded, with only a hint of bumping at both ends of the spine and the front corner tips. The corners of the back cover are sharp. The binding is firm, the endpapers are clean, and the pages have only minor browning at the edges. There is a small round black spot on pages 38 and 39, and a narrow brown streak on pages 139 and 140. Otherwise, the content is completely clean with no names, inscriptions, dog-eared pages, or other defects. The first-state dust jacket is also near fine. The inner flaps have very light fading along the top edge (around 4 mm), and the corner points are slightly bumped. Other than that, the dust jacket is in a great condition, with no spine fading, shelf wear, or edge wear.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is in VG condition. The cover has some light creases, with 1 cm of wear at the base of the spine, and the corners are bumped. The first four pages show slight waviness, with a small mark on pages 7 and 46/47, and a stain on the fore edge that lightly extends onto the pages, but o names, inscriptions or other flaws. The scarce “ Friend of Potter” button that comes with the books is in a fine condition.
Fully authenticated by J.K. Rowling signature expert Adam Houston of The Harry Potter Specialist and includes a Letter of Authenticity (LoA), along with a collector’s card containing further interesting details.
