Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Paperback - 2003

About this book

First Edition Identification

The first edition of Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets was published in the UK by Bloomsbury, in 1998. "First published in Great Britain in 1998" is stated on the copyright page with a number line of “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”, and the printer stated as "Clays Ltd, St Ives plc”.

The boards are illustrated to match the dust jacket, which has a price of £10.99 on the bottom corner of the front flap. The two reviews printed on the dust jacket were by The Sunday Times, and The Independent on Saturday. Early printings lack the Hogwarts logo on the copyright page which was later added to hardcover editions. First printings of the paperback edition do have the logo. 

Printed in 1999 by Scholastic Press, the first US edition of Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets is also very valued in the book market. The copyright page has the full number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1       9/9 0/0 1 2 3 4". "First American edition, June 1999" is stated on the same page. Boards are in blue with an embossed diamond pattern and a green cloth spine. The original price was $17.95. 

Note -  there are book club editions that have the same full number line, but they don’t have the diamond pattern on the boards.