First edition, fourth UK Bloomsbury printing of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4. According to Errington (p.4), the fourth printing had a publication figure of only 500 hardback copies. The copyright page credits Joanne Rowling with no space between Thomas Taylor and the year 1997. This early printing features the original illustration of the brown-haired young wizard on the reverse and spine, later replaced by an image of Dumbledore. It does not yet feature the Hogwarts crest on the title page, a detail absent from the first five hardback printings. The first and second Hardback printings were issued without a dust jacket; this fourth printing was the second to include a dust jacket.
Near fine pictorial boards with bright colours; the lower spine end is lightly pushed, while the upper spine end and corners remain sharp. The binding is tight, and the endpapers are clean, free from marks, inscriptions, or stamps. Mild finger soiling to pages 53–55, otherwise bright pages with only minimal toning to the edges.The first edition, unclipped dust jacket is also in near fine condition, with minor creasing at the lower spine end, vibrant colours, and hardly any fading to the spine, now protected by a removable Brodart Archival dust jacket cover. A very nice copy of this early printing.
