Fugitive Pieces, cover of another edition (the Bloomsbury 1997 cover is not yet photographed)Another edition's cover

Cover of another edition of this book. The Bloomsbury 1997 jacket has not been photographed yet.

Hardback

Fugitive Pieces (1997)

Publisher Bloomsbury Year 1997 ISBN 9780747529392

Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 30 Oct 2026.

Market value

What decides the price

  • It is the first UK edition; the true first was published elsewhere.
  • The original dust jacket carries much of the price for a book of this age; its condition matters as much as the book's.
  • Condition is graded separately for book and jacket, from Fine down to Poor.

Buy a copy: eBay

Sales record

No sales recorded yet

We value a printing from verified sales of that exact printing, and none of the first impression has come to auction in our records so far. The chart and the value by condition appear here as soon as one does.

I own this Want this

Pro members with this book on their wantlist are emailed when it sells under their price.

In short

Quick answer

Who published the Fugitive Pieces 1997 hardback?
Bloomsbury, London, in 1997, in hardback.
Identification

How to identify this edition

The novel was first published in Canada by McClelland & Stewart in 1996 and in Britain the following year. The first British edition is the Bloomsbury hardback, London, 1997, ISBN 0747529396, 294 pages, in a pictorial dust jacket; dealers offer first printings signed and unsigned, and reprints of the hardback are also on the market, so check the copyright page for the first impression. A Bloomsbury paperback (ISBN 0747532826) is also dated 1997 and is not the collectable first. The 1997 large print edition from Thorndike Press (Maine) with Chivers Press (Bath), ISBN 9780786212002, is not the first UK edition.

Publisher's practice

How Bloomsbury marked its first editions

  • Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), first printing: the copyright page gives 1997 as its only date and has a number line ending in 1 (10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1).
  • The copyright page credits the author as "Joanne Rowling" rather than "J. K. Rowling".
  • On page 53 the list of school equipment gives "1 wand" twice.
  • The back cover spells the title "Philospher's Stone".
  • The first run was only 500 hardbacks, and some 300 went to libraries, so many copies were worn out or lost.

Read the full guide to Bloomsbury first editions, decade by decade, and check your copy's copyright page against it. Our number line decoder reads the printing from the row of numbers.

Printing by printing

Printings and states

First impression

1997

At a glance

Not yet researched

We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.

Know the points? Tell us. We publish them, with credit, once a second source agrees.

Notes

The cover image shows this book but may not be this edition or printing.

Questions collectors ask

Frequently asked questions

Who published the Fugitive Pieces 1997 hardback?

Bloomsbury, London, in 1997, in hardback.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 30 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.