Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Half Blood Prince & Deathly Hallows
The German Alternative Covers for Booksellers, Published by Carlsen 2003, 2005, 2007
The German alternative cover books were sent out to German booksellers prior to the official release of each book as a thank you. They were never meant to be sold to the public and therefore were printed in extremely low numbers and are incredibly rare.
Book 5, the order of the phoenix has a brown dust jacket with the roman numeral V on the front cover, this was to hide the cover art on the actual book underneath the dust jack prior to the official release. Inside there is a special message from J.K. Rowling which reads ‘Dear booksellers, I am delighted to know that Harry has had the good fortune to be on your shelves in Germany. I send you all my thanks and best wishes.’ This book is in lovely condition with a slight mark to the top of the spine on the dust jacket and some minor spotting to the page edges, overall a copy in near fine condition. Internally clean.
Book 6, released two years later in 2005 displays a unique illustration on the dust jacket which differs to the books front cover underneath. Again with a message inside ‘Dear Booksellers, Once again I would like to send my special thanks to you all for working so enthusiastically to bring Harry Potter’s world to so many German Speaking readers. Very best wishes.’ This copy is in very good condition aside from a fairly significant spine lean. Apart from this it’s superb and internally clean.
Book 7, released in 2007, had a similar design to book 5, with its brown dust jacket and roman numeral VII on the spine, this time it shows a peeled back corner giving us a glimpse at what the front cover may look like. Unfortunately there was no message present from J.K. Rowling in this book. Of the three books in this set, this one is in the best condition. The book and dust jacket are both in fine condition. Internally clean.
Overall a beautiful set, very rare to find for sale together.