Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

First edition, third printing of the rarest book in the Harry Potter series, a cornerstone of young adult literature, and one of the best-selling books of all time. Octavo, original illustrated boards. Signed by the illustrator Thomas Taylor with an original drawing of Harry Potter on the dedication page. At the time of the book’s publication in 1996, illustrator Thomas Taylor had just graduated from art school and was working at Heffers Children’s Bookshop in Cambridge. At Heffers, Taylor educated himself on the children’s book market and its major publishers and decided to submit a portfolio of his illustrations to the offices of Bloomsbury Publishing, including several drawings of dragons and wizards. Taylor heard back from Bloomsbury’s editor, Barry Cunningham (who had recently decided to take a chance on publishing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone after it had been rejected by twelve other publishers) almost immediately. Cunningham phoned him at Heffers and asked if he could create a design for the cover of a relatively unknown author’s first book about a schoolboy wizard. He sent Taylor an incomplete manuscript of the book and, after two days, Taylor had a final product: a watercolor painting of a young Harry Potter with his lightning-bolt scar standing next to the Hogwarts Express on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. In fine condition.