Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

New York: Scholastic Press, 1998 First American edition, first printing, in a first state dust jacket: spine lacking Year 1, dust jacket priced at $16.95 and with review from The Guardian on the rear panel. Signed and inscribed by Rowling to USF professor Beverly Hock on the patterned half-title page: "To Bev Hock, with very best wishes, JK Rowling". Publisher's red cloth and purple boards with diamond pattern in blind, lettered in gilt; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by GrandPré, with an illustration of Harry catching the Snitch to the front panel, illustration of Dumbledore and Hedwig to the rear panel, lettered in gilt. Near fine book, with light rubbing to boards and spine ends, light sunning to bottom edges of boards, upper corners lightly bumped, and very light spotting to text block edges; fine unclipped dust jacket, with just a touch of wrinkling to top corner of rear flap fold. With J.K. Rowling Oct. 30, 1999 Cover to Cover Booksellers book signing ticket laid in. Overall, a great copy with first-rate provenance. Errington A4(a). First published by Bloomsbury in England as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in 1997, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first book in the Harry Potter series. It introduces both Harry and readers alike to the secret, magical world of wizards and witches in England. Although often regarded as a children's novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone topped adult reading charts in both the United States and the UK. As Michael Winerip praises in his 1999 New York Times review, "like Harry Potter, [Rowling] had wizardry inside, and has soared beyond her modest Muggle surroundings to achieve something quite special." In October of 1999, J.K. Rowling came to the US to tour and promote her third book in the Harry Potter series, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Leading up to its release, Rowling's popularity in the US was finally catching up with her popularity in the UK, and there was significant competition among US bookstores to have Rowling sign at their locations. One of the lucky winners was San Francisco's Cover to Cover, owned by Nicky Salan. Dr. Beverley Hock was friends with many San Francisco booksellers, including Nicky. After obtained a coveted admission ticket to the Cover to Cover signing, Beverly was able to get US copies of the first three Harry Potter books signed by Rowling. Dr. Beverly Vaughn Hock (Ed.D.) is a professor at the University of San Francisco, who specializes in children's literature. She has led children's literature study tours around the world and contributed to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. The Northern California Children's Booksellers Association honored her with the Otter Award for her "ongoing and unique role in bringing children and books together," and the Iris Center named her one of the "Outstanding Women of San Francisco." . Signed by Author. First American Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included. Illus. by GrandPre, Mary.