First Danish Edition / First Printing

Title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Print run: 2,000
Publisher: Gyldendal
Publication Date: 16 October 1998
Translator: Hanna Lützen
Script: Latin
Cover Artwork: Per Jørgensen
Reprints Include: None (Second Edition hardback)
Binding: Paperback
ISBN: 87-00-34654-3
Read: Potterglot - Danish Macroedition
Watch: The Potter Collector - Oddest Chamber of Secrets Covers
Listen: Dialogue Alley (The Official Podcast of The Potter Collector)

The Danish edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was the sixth translation of the book to be released. It was published by Copenhagen based publishing house Gyldendal on 16 October 1998 in an edition of only 2,000 copies in paperback format. The book is extremely scarce and one of the most difficult I found to acquire. As of October 2023 it’s not referenced on the Potterglot website and the hashtag ‘harrypottertranslations’ on Instagram, with over 1,000 posts, does not show a single copy of the book.

The translation was done by Hanna Lützen who translated all the Harry Potter books into Danish, and the illustration was created by Per Jørgensen—an oil painter and professional illustrator who has to date produced illustrations for over 250 books. The cover artwork appears in full on the cover of the first edition whereas from the second edition onwards, which was published in hardback, a blue boarder appears around it.

Although the first edition is technically a paperback it is of very good quality, it is produced on normal paper and sewn together in the middle whereas typical paperbacks produced on lower quality paper and simply glued, rather than sewn, in the middle—it can be described as being in-between a paperback and hardback. At the time it was standard for Gyldendal to publish their first editions like this followed by a mass-market bound edition afterwards. This bound edition in hardback is the edition which most collectors own. There were no reprints of the first edition—it took a while to sell but when it did Gyldendal went straight to the hardcover edition.

The true first Danish edition can also be identified on the front cover where the authors name is given as “Joanne K. Rowling” at the top and there is no reference to later impressions or editions on the copyright page. There is a bookclub edition which looks very similar to the first edition, however, the authors name is given as “J. K. Rowling” and it states “bogklubber” under the publishers name. Gyldendal had a very successful bookclub at the time and several reprints (at least six) were released for Philosopher’s Stone. The bookclub editions were sold exclusively through the bookclub to members who could access this offer