Only 500 copies were bound this way, and 300 of those were sent to libraries. The rarest is the hardback issue, with a cover of laminated boards. (Source: Philip Nel, "You say 'Jelly,' I say 'Jell-O'? Harry Potter and the Transfiguration of Language," in The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon, Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2002: 261-284.) Check out The Harry Potter Lexicon for a list of all the changes.Harry Potter first edition, softcover issueįirst, what do the books look like? The first printing was bound in two different ways. The almost total disappearance of the word 'Mum' is a case in point, illustrating how acts of translation efface cultural specificity" (269). He writes, "during its transformation to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone loses the most in translation. For example, the characters in the Americanized version say "sweater" instead of "jumper."Ĭritic Philip Nel thinks all this changing of words is a bad idea. We don't usually think of British English being that different from American English, but there are tons of little differences. Others words were also changed to make it sound more American. You could even say the use of Sorcerer reduces the original title's emphasis on education: Philosopher reminds us of the study and quest for (magical) knowledge, while Sorcerer reminds us of magic itself. The use of Philosopher in the title doesn't stress magic as much as the revised version does. That's right the first Harry Potter book was actually called Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone instead of Sorcerer's Stone. The second thing about the title is, perhaps surprisingly, that this wasn't the original title in the UK. Sure, there's mystery, excitement, and plenty of danger, but there's also lots of joyous discovery about the magical world of Hogwarts and its existence within the Muggle society. In Book 1, Harry's eleven, he's just found out he's a wizard, and he's only beginning to dip his toes into the well of magic. The Sorcerer's Stone doesn't have quite as mature – we could almost say as dark – an association. As the series progresses, the BLANKS get tougher and tougher, finishing up in the Deathly Hallows. Each of Rowling's following, bestselling books includes the phrasing Harry Potter and the.
The first is how it sets the tone for the rest of the Harry Potter series. There are at least two big things to take away from this title. It reminds us that we're clearly in the fantasy genre (with the idea of sorcerers) and lets us know right away who our hero is (Harry Potter). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone sounds exciting and magical. This title lets us know right away that we're in for a fun ride.
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