First UK Bloomsbury edition, 15th hardback printing, of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, with the number line 20 19 18 17 16 15.
This early impression was published before the Harry Potter phenomenon reached new heights following the release of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 1999. It retains several distinctive features of the earliest Bloomsbury editions, including the original illustration of the brown-haired young wizard on the rear cover and spine, later replaced by an illustration of Dumbledore. The copyright page also retains the original Joanne Rowling attribution.
The pictorial boards are clean and well preserved, showing only very slight, barely noticeable fading along the upper edge. The corners and spine ends remain sharp, and the binding is tight and firm. The endpapers and pages are clean and free from markings, with only mild age-related toning to the page edges, as commonly encountered in early Bloomsbury printings.
The original dust jacket is in very good condition, showing only minor wear and slight fading along the upper edges of the inner flaps.
An attractive example of an early hardback printing of the novel that launched the Harry Potter series, retaining its original cover artwork and early bibliographical features, and presented in excellent collectible condition.
