Magic Harry Potter haul sells for £150,000 in Staffordshire

The five hardback first editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone sold for £41,000, £21,000, £19,000,£18,500 and £12,500 at Hansons Auctioneers on Wednesday.

Another rare find, pre-dating the first issue hardback, is a proof cover design for Bloomsbury, dated June 1997.

This is a scarce proof sheet of the proposed illustrated wrappers, which would have accompanied one of 200 uncorrected, pre-publication copies of the book. A rare survivor with considerable variations from the final published version, it sold for £9,000.

Jim Spencer, books expert at Hansons, said: "It was a thrilling afternoon in the saleroom. People were joining us online from all over the world.

"Some of the bidding battles were slow-burning, really tense, gradually building up into a frenzy between determined collectors.

"I receive countless enquiries every week, but I feel like I really get to know our vendors, I learn their stories and share them with the world, we enjoy chatting, so it's quite a bit of pressure hoping things will spark interest for them, it's fortune-telling really, and so I feel really excited for them when things are racing away. Charles was, as always, a showman on the rostrum, fizzing with energy and enthusiasm and excitement."

A first issue hardback of Chamber of Secrets which bears an intriguing inscription, 'To Jill, who very spookily gave me a beautiful card with something from Book Four on it! With many thanks, JK Rowling' after the seller met J K Rowling when she was a young Potter fan sold for £3,500. Her mother was a teacher at Dunblane Primary School and JK Rowling paid them a visit in February, 1999.

An Order of the Phoenix book signed by cast went for £1,500 and signed Goblet of Fire with "golden ticket" from Harrods sold for £1,500