It’s 20 years since the publication of the first Harry Potter novel by JK Rowling.

The manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was rejected a number of times before being published in 1997, with a print run of just 500 copies – 300 of which went to libraries..

By the way, if you happen to have one of these original copies lying around (the print line on the copyright page is 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1), it could be worth up to £30,000.

Rowling commemorated Harry Potter’s 20 anniversary by tweeting:

20 years ago today a world that I had lived in alone was suddenly open to others. It's been wonderful. Thank you.#HarryPotter20

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 26, 2017

Over on Imgur, a user has compiled a gallery of the many faces of the Harry Potter books, which is well worth a look:

The Many Covers of Harry Potter

Categories Fiction International

Tags Harry Potter JK Rowling