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 |
| The
Prisoner of Azkaban film has proved a global box office
hit |
Online auction firm eBay has said a rare first
edition copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban could fetch up
to
￡20,000.
The sellers on eBay describe the book as a "genuine first print, first
issue hardback" and detail distinctive errors on the title page and first
page.
The sale price has reached ￡1,200 so far, with three days of bidding to
go.
Publishers Bloomsbury said it was impossible to verify
the copy's authenticity without seeing it.
The sellers say they have kept the book unread and
sealed in an airtight
box since buying it in 2000 for ￡600.
They have decided to auction it for money to invest in their business
after watching its value soar over the past four years.
The sellers' entry reads: "This was a really good investment for us."
They say the book can be proved to be a first
state copy because the author's name on the reverse
of the title page is printed as Joanne
Rowling.
Also, on the first page of the story there is a dropped line of text
between the word 'burnt' and 'so much'.
The sellers say the presses were stopped part-way through the initial
run of 10,000 copies to correct these mistakes, making the book even
rarer.
An eBay spokeswoman said potential bidders could examine scanned pages
from the book on the website or e-mail the sellers for more information.
She advised buyers to study a seller's feedback according to the
guidelines provided by eBay.
A spokeswoman for Bloomsbury said they would have
to examine the book close-up
before they could authenticate the sellers' claims.
In January this year, an uncorrected proof copy of the first Harry
Potter book - with the author's name spelled wrongly - sold for ￡1,250 at
auction.
A signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was sold
by the author's father for ￡27,500 at auction in 2003.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2004-08-26 10:38