Original cover art for ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ expected to set auction record

(CNN) —& J.K. Rowling’s& 1997 novel& “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”& was the beginning of what would become a worldwide phenomenon. Now, the original illustration for the first edition of the book is going on sale. Expected to sell for up to $600,000 at auction next month, it is the highest presale value ever placed on a Harry Potter-related item, according to auction house Sotheby’s. The watercolor cover art was created by author and illustrator Thomas Taylor. The image features young wizard Harry Potter – with his unmistakable dark, brown hair, round glasses and lightning bolt scar – ready to board the Hogwarts Express train for his first trip to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Taylor’s cover was used for several translated versions of the book, the auction house said. However, it was not used for the US edition of the book, which was released with the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” When the illustration was first up for auction at Sotheby’s in London in 2001, it sold for around four times its estimated sale price, for a record £85,750 (about $106,000), according to a Sotheby’s press release Thursday. In June, “more than 20 years...