Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire & Deathly Hallows
First Canadian Edition, First Printing, Hardcover, Raincoast, Signed by J. K. Rowling, Pristine
Many collectors try to collect books from all of J.K. Rowling’s major Harry Potter signing events. The most popular being the UK Hogwarts express tour for the Goblet of Fire in 2000 and the midnight release event for Deathly Hallows in London in 2007. In the US she visited in 1998 signing copies of Sorcerer’s Stone and then again in 1999 signing copies of Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban. She also did a large signing event for Deathly Hallows in the US in 2007. There were some smaller signing events for the UK and US copies of Half Blood Prince in 2005 but on a very small scale. As well as these, Canada also had two very special events that need to be included in this list: Rowling’s visit to the Toronto Sky Dome in 2000 and her visit to The Winter Garden Theatre in 2007.
The first Canadian edition, first printing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in this pairing was signed to the half title page in black ink during Rowling’s appearance on October 23rd, 2000 at the Toronto Sky Dome. Rowling signed approximately 200 copies of the Canadian edition of Goblet of Fire which were given to a number of corporate sponsors for the event based on their support. Rowling read to approximately 20,000 people- Raincoast believe it to be a world record for the world’s largest book reading. The book is accompanied by an original ticket and programme to the event and letter of authenticity signed by Administrative Director, Geoffrey E. Taylor.
The first edition, first printing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this pairing was signed in black ink to the half-title page by J.K. Rowling on 23rd October 2007 at the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto. Although UK first editions were signed at this event, their original dust jackets were replaced with Canadian Raincoast jackets, meaning the book is a distinctive issue unique to the occasion. The J.K. Rowling hologram is affixed to the signing page. During this event Rowling gave a reading from the chapter “The Silver Doe.” The book is accompanied by an International Festival of Authors (IFOC) program from her Winter Gardens event and a Deathly Hallows promotional door hanger.
Both books are in pristine condition, exceptionally clean and clearly unread, with no internal markings, ownership inscriptions, dog-eared pages or other defects. The page edges are bright and show little to no evidence of toning, which is extremely rare for these titles. There is no colour fading to either of the books or the dust jackets, which are also in perfect condition, making this pair a highly attractive collector’s set. Both books come housed in a custom cloth clamshell boxes with gold gilt lettering to the spines.
Both copies come 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, collector card and provenance from both events.
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by Leanne O'Leary
