Rare Book Monthly
Articles - December - 2007 Issue
AbeBooks' Charity Auction Includes Signed Harry Potter
This signed Harry Potter book and memorabilia will be auctioned off.
By Michael Stillman
Abebooks will be holding its third charity auction from December 6-11. This is a great opportunity to get a bid in on a wonderful gift, while aiding some worthy causes at the same time.
The featured item is a signed copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. This is not signed by Potter, but by his creator, J.K. Rowling. This is a first Canadian edition (from Raincoast), and was signed during Rowling's visit to Toronto earlier this year. It comes with a few other items of memorabilia from her visit. Any signed Rowling work is instantly a valued collectible.
Next up is a copy of The Door by Margaret Atwood. This is a signed, limited and numbered edition (just 150 copies) produced for PEN of Canada, an organization that works for freedom of expression all over the world. Number 1 was recently auctioned for $2,000 and number 2 for $1,800. This copy is number 4.
Lot 3 in this auction is an illustrated edition of The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. This, too, is a signed copy. This piece of storytelling is a modern classic, an international bestseller.
Finally, Lot 4 includes two books by Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss and Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard. This two-for-one includes two author signatures, one in each book. The books were signed when Desai visited AbeBooks home in Victoria, BC, last October.
Proceeds from the auction will go to support the United Way's "Project Literacy" in Abe's hometown of Victoria, with the exception of the Atwood book, which will support PEN Canada. Don't miss your opportunity. To learn more, and place your bids from December 6-11, go to www.abebooks.com/auctions.
