HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE. HARRIUS POTTER ET PHILOSOPHI LAPIS. This is a true British first edition, first printing, of the Latin translation of this first volume in the Harry Potter series. This copy is unread, and was first opened to make this description. It was acquired on the day of its release and has never been touched until this listing. First edition / first printings from the original country of publication are generally recognized as the’true’ first editions. Physical description of the Book. 20 x 13.5 cm (7.9x 5.3 in); 249pp. Black cloth boards, stamped in gold on cover and spine (see photos). Printed in black and white with red end papers. Multicolored grease proof jacket with illustrations by Thomas Taylor. Translated by Peter Needham. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing, London 2003. Printed by Clays, Ltd. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was first published by J. In this 2003 edition, Classics scholar Peter Needham translates that story into Latin. It is an unusual choice of translation, but also a rare one, as few copies of this Latin language edition would have been printed. From the back jacket. The translation is great stuff. It is accurate and fluent, but it is much more than that. It has been carried off with wit, inventiveness, sensitivity and panache. I find it impossible to think if it being better done.