Hello all, I am looking for some information of a strange copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that has come into my possession. There are several differences between this and the copy I purchased the day the book was released:
--First off, both are hardcover, and have the same ISBN numbers.--
Now, for the differences:
On the cover:
- This book is 8.5 x 5.75 x 1.85 inches (approx) while my other copy is 9.25 x 6.25 x 2 inches. These are the measurements at the cover.
- The cover of the book is flat black paper, while my other copy has a red diamond-patterned paper with black fabric on the spine.
- The printing on the spine of the book (again not the dust jacket) is gold in color, while my other copy is clearly reddish-gold to better match the red cover.
On the dust jacket:
- The gold print on the spine and on the words "Harry Potter" and "J.K. Rowling" on the front are not embossed or raised in any way as they are on my other copy.
- On the back, the second barcode (after the ISBN barcode) is missing, and in its place is the code "03257"
- On the inside left flap of the jacket, there is no price. There is a price of $25.95 on my other copy.
- On the bottom of the right inside flap of the jacket, the text "Arthur A. Levine Books, An Imprint of Scholasic Press, 555 Broadway, New York, New York 10012" as well as the emblem above are missing. The text "Jacket art by Mary GrandPre, Jacket design by Mary GrandPre and David Saylor" are moved up, and the text "Printed in the U.S.A." is present on the bottom of the flap.
Inside the book:
- The paper immediately on the inside of the front and back covers is white, not purple as in my other copy.
- All three title pages (first two immediately, then one after the contents) have white .25 inch white borders on the top and bottom of the pages. In these bordered areas, there is no diamond background pattern.
- On the copyright page, the text "Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Available" and "Library of Congress catalog card number: 00-131084" is missing. Also, there is no number line, no number after "Printed in the U.S.A", or any text indicating the edition.
- On the Last page of the book, it says "was printed and bound at Berryville Graphics in Berryville, Virginia." while my book cites Quebecor World in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
As far as I can tell, the spacing and page numbering, as well as the content of the two books is the same. What is strange is that the last page says that both have 12 point text, though the text is obviously smaller in the smaller book. The fact that the books are the same, yet are only skewed smaller, leads me to wonder if this book was perhaps a proof or some other sort of (supposedly nonexistant) advance copy.
When I saw the book, I first went to the copyright page to see if it was a first edition and first printing. The absence of a number line, and then the color of the cover caught my attention.
If anyone could please tell me what this book may be, and if it is, in fact, rare, it would be greatly appreciated.
That was my original thought as well, that it was a fake. However, as I looked further at it, the quality of the printing almost seems better than that of my known original. I believe that if it was fake, the illustrations would show slight imperfections or evidence of copying. Also, I believe that the book would be an exact copy, and not have the text differences that it does have.
If there are any pictures of the book you would like to see, let me know.
Thanks for the guess anyway. I also had two further thoughts. If it was indeed a fake, I'm sure that Scholastic and the news would have issued some sort of a warning to people about pirated copies of the book. Just another thought.
Please, anyone. Any ideas at all would be greatly appreciated!
I saw something similar.. except it was two different copies of Deathly Hallows. Two different sizes... and underneath the dust jacket, the cover was different. One book looked the same as the dust jacket, while the other had yellow and green fabric. I didn't immediately catch any other differences. But perhaps if I had gotten a better look I would have,
The weirdest part was that both books were lying next to each other in the same store. I am just as puzzled as you are. _________________ Blame it on a simple twist of fate. ~ Bob Dylan
IT's a special edition. I have the special edition of OotP, and it has the same diamonds on the fabric cover. It is also different in saize compared to the regular one, and some of the wording is differet. I bought it for $60 at Walden's books on a whim, so yours must have been about the same amount originally.
Hmm.... The special edition you pointed to has a plastic covered dust jacket, and is larger than a standard edition. Mine is actually smaller than a standard, and has no numberline to indicate the printing on the copyright page, as the Parrish special edition has.
is it some kind of foreign edition that was later translated back to english or whatever? Because the English versions and the American Versions look different and there are a few words that are different also. _________________ Twilight fan? Come here!
I've checked the line spacing and page numbers of all the first and last pages of the chapters in the book, and they are identical to a standard american version.
Because the same words are in the same places on these pages, all the words should be the same in the chapters.
Hmm.... The special edition you pointed to has a plastic covered dust jacket, and is larger than a standard edition. Mine is actually smaller than a standard, and has no numberline to indicate the printing on the copyright page, as the Parrish special edition has.
Still a mystery
Oh wow. I read it in a hurry this morning. I wonder what it is if it's not the deluxe edition. Maybe it was produced when it was still in the editing process. Although, I have never seen one from the editing process that was so much like the finished product. _________________
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IT's a special edition. I have the special edition of OotP, and it has the same diamonds on the fabric cover. It is also different in saize compared to the regular one, and some of the wording is differet. I bought it for $60 at Walden's books on a whim, so yours must have been about the same amount originally.
The books I was talking about... the dust jackets are completely identical. Neither ones are the Deluxe editions or anything like that. It's like, besides the size, unless you took off the dust jackets, you wouldn't know there was a difference. _________________ Blame it on a simple twist of fate. ~ Bob Dylan
^That is weird, too. THey really should put somewhere in the printinf information what makes a book different from regular copies. _________________
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Are you talking about UK books? I know some UK editions have the cover with art just like the dust jacket. In fact, I saw one the other day at a thrift store (which is strange, seeing that I'm in the US.)
That's just it though, it doesn't quite seem like a final version of the book. Its almost as if it was before it had Library of Congress (all US books have this) information or an officially-set price, and all the pages are shrunk, with the title pages looking incomplete because of the white space around them.
Once again, if anyone wants to see pictures, let me know.
Are you talking about UK books? I know some UK editions have the cover with art just like the dust jacket. In fact, I saw one the other day at a thrift store (which is strange, seeing that I'm in the US.)
That's just it though, it doesn't quite seem like a final version of the book. Its almost as if it was before it had Library of Congress (all US books have this) information or an officially-set price, and all the pages are shrunk, with the title pages looking incomplete because of the white space around them.
Once again, if anyone wants to see pictures, let me know.
No, they were both US editions. _________________ Blame it on a simple twist of fate. ~ Bob Dylan
I googled "Harry potter and the Goblet of Fire 03257'" and I found this on a site.
* _<B>Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (SFBC #03257, Aug 2000, $12.98, 734pp, hc, cover by Mary GrandPré) [Harry Potter] Reprint (Scholastic 2000) young-adult fantasy, the fourth in the “Harry Potter” series. This is similar to the Scholastic/Levine edition, except it lacks a price and has the SFBC number on the back jacket; the jacket also lacks the metallic ink and embossing
Yep, that sounds like the book. Hmm... does anyone know about this SFBC? I still find it wierd that the book would be lacking Library of Congress info or a number line on the copyright page.
I researched and researched and googled and googled. Through blood, sweat, and tears... I hunted and went through torturous and rigorous work... and then I went to my friend who works at Barnes and Noble and asked him.
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