The first edition is one of just 500 identified by two errors in the book’s text.
A rare Harry Potter book bought for £1 at a table top sale has fetched £28,500 at auction.
The 1997 first edition of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone – JK Rowling’s debut novel and the first in the popular children’s series – was bought on the phone by a private UK collector.
Sold on the author’s birthday on Wednesday at Bishton Hall, Staffordshire, the hard copy is from a print run of just 500 identified by two errors in the book’s text.
The seller, a 54-year-old office worker who did not want to be named, said: “I can’t believe it. It’s what I’d hoped for but I never really believed my book would make that price.
“I knew another Harry Potter first edition had sold for £28,000 but I was panicking as there had been no bids prior to the sale. When I checked to see if it had sold, I was amazed.”
The former Staffordshire Library book, stamped in red ink with “withdrawn from stock” on the inside, was bought by the owner at a table top sale around 20 years ago.
Published by Bloomsbury on June 30 1997, the first edition can be identified by a misspelling of philosopher’s on the back page and a double mention of “1 wand” on page 53 in an equipment list.
Jim Spencer, head of books and works on paper at Hansons Auctioneers, said it was “pure luck” that the auction was listed on the birthday of the author, who gave her fictional character Harry Potter the same birthday.
He said three phone bidders had battled it out to buy the rare edition, which was left in a cupboard in the owner’s home before being valued by auctioneers.
“When our client bought the book for £1 all those years ago, no-one realised what a huge impact the Harry Potter stories would have globally,” Mr Spencer said.
“The majority of the books in that first print run went to schools and libraries. They are extremely rare.
“This is a landmark in children’s literature, but it appeals to young and old.
“Everybody knows this book. This is the holy grail for so many collectors.”
CAIRO (AP) — The White House released the names of some of the leaders who will play a role in overseeing next steps in Gaza after the Palestinian committee set to govern the territory under U.S. supervision met for the first time Friday in Cairo.
The committee's leader, Ali Shaath, an engineer and former Palestinian Authority official from Gaza, pledged to get to work quickly to improve conditions. He expects reconstruction and recovery to take about three years and plans to focus first on immediate needs, including shelter.
“The Palestinian people were looking forward to this committee, its establishment and its work to rescue them,” Shaath said after the meeting, in a television interview with Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News.
U.S. President Donald Trump supports the group's efforts to govern Gaza after the two-year war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli troops withdrew from parts of Gaza after the ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, while thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to what is left of their homes.
Now, there will be a number of huge challenges going forward, including the deployment of an international security force to supervise the ceasefire deal and the difficult process of disarming Hamas.
Under Trump's plan, Shaath's technocratic committee will run day-to-day affairs in Gaza under the oversight of a Trump-led “Board of Peace,” whose members have not yet been named.
The White House said an executive board will work to carry out the vision of the Board of Peace.
The executive board’s members include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel.
Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. Mideast envoy, is to serve as the executive board’s representative overseeing day-to-day matters.
The White House also announced the members of another board, the “Gaza Executive Board,” which will work with Mladenov, the technocratic committee and the international stabilization force.
Witkoff, Kushner, Blair, Rowan and Mladenov will also sit on that board. Additional members include: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan; Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi; Hassan Rashad, director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Agency; Emirati minister Reem Al-Hashimy; Israeli businessman Yakir Gabay; and Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands’ former deputy prime minister and a Mideast expert.
In the West Bank, friends and relatives gathered Friday to mourn the death of a 14-year-old Palestinian boy killed by Israeli forces.
The Palestinian Health Ministry, which confirmed his death, said Mohammad Na’san was the first child killed by the army in the occupied West Bank in 2026.
Residents said Israeli forces fired stun grenades and tear gas in an unprovoked attack. Israel’s military said in a statement that the incursion came after Palestinians had hurled rocks at Israelis and set tires aflame.
“There was gunfire directed at citizens and farmers, the most dangerous of which occurred during the storming of the village as people were leaving the mosques. The streets were crowded with the elderly, children, women, and elders, and they began firing relentlessly,” said Ameen Abu Aliya, head of the Al-Mughayyir village council.
The death was the latest episode of violence to hit al-Mughayyir, a village east of Ramallah that has become a flashpoint in the West Bank. Much of the community’s agricultural land falls under Israeli military control.
Early this year, settlers and Israeli military bulldozers destroyed olive groves in the area, saying they were searching for Palestinian gunmen. A children’s park in al-Mughayyir was also demolished.
In 2025, 240 Palestinians — including 55 children — were killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank, while Palestinians killed 17 Israelis — including one child — in the region, according to the United Nations.
Meanwhile, two children were killed Friday in Gaza, a 7-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. They were killed in Beith Lahiya, near the Yellow Line, and their bodies taken to al-Shifa Hospital, the hospital said. No further details were immediately available.
Price reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Jalal Bwaitel and Imed Isseid contributed to this report from Ramallah, Wafaa Shurafa from Deir Al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Matthew Lee from Washington.
A Palestinian inspects the rubble of the al-Hawli family home, destroyed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians inspect the rubble of the al-Hawli family home, destroyed in an Israeli strike in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Children walk over a pile of garbage at a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians on a beach in Deir al-Balah, in the Gaza Strip Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
