Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
First Adult Edition, First Printing, Hardcover, Bloomsbury 2005, Bookplate Signed by J.K. Rowling
A small-scale Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book signing took place at Edinburgh Castle at midnight on the publication date, 16 July 2005, and was the only scheduled signing event for the book. Instead of widespread in-person signings, Bloomsbury produced special Half-Blood Prince promotional bookplates, featuring the flame illustration from the dust jacket, which were distributed to help promote the release. Contemporary newspaper reports suggest these signed bookplates were randomly given to customers, making authentic examples increasingly scarce.
The majority of signed copies from this release are signed on these official Half-Blood Prince bookplates, and this example features a genuine J.K. Rowling signature in black ink, affixed to the front free endpaper opposite the pastedown. This marked the first time Bloomsbury issued a bookplate branded specifically for an individual Harry Potter title, as prior signed copies typically used generic Bloomsbury bookplates.
The book itself is bright, clean and unread, with no internal markings, ownership inscriptions, dog-eared pages or other defects. The page edges show almost no toning, which is extremely rare for this title, and there is no colour fading to either the book or the dust jacket. Overall, the book is in near fine condition, with only very minor bumping to the spine tip and base, with very light shelf wear to the corners. The dust jacket remains in fine condition, making this a highly attractive collector’s copy.
This first adult edition comes fully authenticated by Adam Houston, The Harry Potter Specialist, widely regarded as the leading expert in authenticating J.K. Rowling signatures, and is accompanied by a full authentication package, including a letter of authenticity and collector card.
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by Leanne O'Leary
