Ref. 25699-72A SET of signed first editions of the first four Harry Potter books is expected to sell for up to £25,000 at a Swindon auction.

The sale at Dominic Winter Book Auctions in Maxwell Street comes in the wake of the fifth volume in JK Rowling's series about the boy wizard breaking sales records throughout the world.

The books were won by a family from the south of England in a recent national newspaper competition. They decided to sell when they took the books to be insured by Lloyds.

They were advised by the insurance firm to take them to Dominic Winter, which is put-ting Swindon on the map as a leading venue for such sales.

Winter's first editions valuer and cataloguer Philip Best said: "It is unheard of to have a signed set like this, and I don't think anyone has sold as nice a set as this.

"We have had a first edition of the first book on its own before and that was sold for £13,500."

Normally, an unsigned first edition of the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone from 1997, could be expected to sell for up to £15,000, while a similar copy of the 1998 follow-up, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, might raise £1,000.

Rowling is not a prolific signer of books, and even a copy of the fourth book is worth as much as £250 with her signature.

Worldwide, the books have sold about 200 million copies in 55 languages.

The books will be sold next Wednesday in an auction of books, maps and ephemera.

Other items at the book and map sale include The Quadrupeds of North America, a classic natural history text, which is expected to raise up to £5,000, various photographs and other items signed by Sir Winston Churchill and expected to raise a total of about £12,500, and signed items relating to celebrities as diverse as Madonna and the late Duchess of Windsor.

The auction house can be contacted on 01793 611340 or at www.dominicwinter.co.uk