Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
UK Uncorrected Proof Book and Rare Proof Jacket, J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury, 1998, Fine
Uncorrected proof copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets together with the exceptionally rare proof dust jacket.
According to Harry Potter expert Peter Kenneth ‘thepottercollector’ the proof dust jacket is one of less than ten in the world to exist. For Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets there were approximately 200-300 UK proof copies of the book sent out, of which an unconfirmed amount of less than 10 proof dust jackets accompanied some the books.
The dust jacket is completely unrestored, which is extremely rare to find. Many of the copies that have been found had tears, chips, etc and have since been restored and put onto the market. Notice the price difference of £9.99 rather than £10.99 as found on the 1st print trade editions as well as a different quote, this time by Nicolette Jones of the Sunday Times rather than the well know quote by The Bookseller. The blue Smarties Award circle printed own the jacket is missing, the text on the back of the jacket is printed in a larger font and the outline of the ISBN frame is missing. Cliff Wright is also mistakenly spelt as Cliffe Wright. The main difference to the trade edition is the white strip on the right side of the jacket containing bibliographic specifications of the book.
This proof jacket is in remarkable condition with no tears or chips whatsoever, no colour fading, no creases and is found in fine condition apart from some slight staining to the inside rear flap. The staining does not extend to the rear panel of the proof dust jacket and no attempt has been made to remove it.
The book itself is an unread copy in exceptional condition. A fine copy, with sharp edges and an incredibly square and tight binding. The slightest mark on the front cover below the word ‘uncorrected’ otherwise a pristine copy. The page edges are white and crisp, no internal writing or marks of any kind. No bowing to the front wrapper, no creasing to the spine – this book has hardly been opened, never mind read. It comes housed in a blue quarter leather clamshell box made by the Chelsea Bindery specifically for this book.
