A first-edition copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" sold for $228,000 at a charity auction in London on Sunday. According to Bloomberg, the rare book features handwritten notes and illustrations by its author J.K. Rowling.
"The sale room fell silent as two determined bidders vied for the prized edition," a spokesperson for Sotheby's told the BBC, describing the scene during the auction of the book.
The Guardian reports that, in addition to the sketches and notes, the edition features a notation written by Rowling, describing the process of creating the character Quidditch, a sport played by the books characters.
The auction—which featured the works of Roald Dahl, Helen Fielding, Colm Toibin, Jeanette Winterson, Frederick Forsyth, Ben Okri, Margaret Drabble, Andrea Levy and Wendy Cope—raised over $600,000 for PEN, an organization dedicated to freedom of expression.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com