Record price for rare illustrated Harry Potter book

After a bidding war between two buyers the book sold for £150,000, a new record for a printed book by Rowling.

It was part of a sale of annotated first edition books by 50 UK and Commonwealth writers.

The sale raised a total of £439,200 for English PEN, which campaigns for freedom of expression.

"The sale room fell silent as two determined bidders vied for the prized edition," said a spokesperson for Sotheby's in London.

"Bidding leapt in increments of up to £25,000 and the hammer finally fell, to a round of applause, on a £150,000 telephone bid."

The second-highest price of the auction was achieved by a copy of Matilda by Roald Dahl, with new illustrations by Quentin Blake, which sold for £30,000.

The sale was attended by a number of authors whose works were featured in the sale, including Helen Fielding, Colm Toibin, Jeanette Winterson, Frederick Forsyth, Ben Okri, Margaret Drabble, Andrea Levy and Wendy Cope.

Dr Philip W Errington of Sotheby's called the books "the ultimate first editions" due to the "remarkable personal insights that the authors have granted us, through their annotations".

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