30 Wicked 'Harry Potter and the Philopher's Stone' Book Covers From Around the Wizarding World

Marketing to Muggles is a nasty business. They have all sorts of preferences depending on their cultural, regional, and social backgrounds. Therefore, to make Harry Potter interesting at a global scale, different methods must be used to catch their interest. And as the very first book published in a 7-book series, this first book cover ought to be very compelling and inviting indeed. As you can see below, publishers from around the globe and across time took very different artistic approaches in marketing the magical series. From expressive and artistic interpretations of the beloved story, like the Japanese and Bulgarian editions, to more exciting, almost comic book-esque covers, like the Thai and Swedish editions, there really is something for everyone. There are even more minimalist covers for those mature adults who like to cast a serious aura about themselves but still enjoy a bit of magic in their lives.

A small fun fact about the Italian cover: if you think it's a bit odd and nonsensical, it's because the artist, Serena Riglietti, illustrated the book cover with only a small reading sample from the novel. In other words, she didn't quite have a full picture of what Harry Potter was about. Also, this particular Italian illustrator was apparently just generally fond of drawing figures with strange hats. The result was this extremely unique and charming little book cover that made its way into many Italian and international hearts.