Harry Potter £1 proof sells again - this time for £29k

The proof copy was bought in a local bookshop sale for £1 in 1997

An original proof of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was bought for an Oxfordshire village school for £1, has sold in the US for $37,500 (£29,000).

The 1997 uncorrected proof, one of only 200 ever printed by publisher Bloomsbury, misspells the author's name as "J. A Rowling".

It had been lost by St Kenelm's Primary School in Minster Lovell, Witney, for about 10 years before it was rediscovered in a cupboard during a summer holiday tidy up in 2023 and sold to local businessman Dale Henry for £15,000.

He had planned to donate it to a local museum but instead sent it to auction in the US to provide money for the village.

The book has a misprint of the author's name

The proof had been bought in a local bookshop sale in 1997 for £1 and given to the school.

It was initially read by pupils but when the series became popular the school took it off its shelves for safe keeping.

Mr Henry said a local museum was unable to accommodate such a valuable item so he decided to auction it off.

It sold in Dallas, Texas, for $37,500, including a buyer's premium.

Speaking before the sale, Mr Henry said he hoped the revenue would "help reinvigorate our community".

"Learning about this book's journey and its connection to our area was fascinating, especially since my wife is a Harry Potter superfan," he added.