Harry Potter
Harry Potter and his creator, J.K. Rowling -- where does one begin? Harry Potter came to our attention in June 1999, when the second book in the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in the US. One of our favorite customers (Don Boose III) casually inquired that he would like any first editions we happen to come across of the series, particularly the first volume and including any UK editions. Sometimes the most innocent-looking customers can be the subtlest in their pursuit of bookish investment. At any rate, we give Don full credit for alerting us to what would become a world-wide phenomenon and the happy cause of many midnight parties in the years to come. Someday we will write up the now-legendary experiences of those book launches and the glorious madness they inspired. We do not carry every crazy merchandised item of the Potter Empire, but we like the core stories and things closely connected to them.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.
And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.
But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone - or something - starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects... Harry Potter himself!