Special Edition of “The Tales of Beedle, The Bard” Will Be Auctioned

The unique and handwritten edition J.K. Rowling made for the publisher who first accepted “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” will be auctioned soon and and the seller will profit at least £500,000.

The volume is part of a six copy collection handmade by Rowling, at the time the author gave to close friends and family the Harry Potter books along with the desirable edition. A seventh version was auctioned in 2007 to raise funds to Rowling’s charity organisation, Lumos.

The publisher, Barry Cunningham, received the manuscript of “The Tales of Beedle, the Bard” in 2007 inside a simple white envelope. To his surprise, a cloth-wrapped, leather-bound and covered with semi-jewellery book was in his hands, a note from Rowling with it: “To Barry, the man who thought an overlong novel about a boy wizard in glasses might just sell … THANK YOU.”

According to Rowling, in the final notes, the stones on the cover, rhodochrosite, were “traditionally associated with love, balance and joy in daily life”.

Sotheby’s auction house director, Dr Philip W Errington, specialist in books and manuscripts, talked about the edition’s importance:

“The personal resonance of this book makes this both an exceptional and highly desirable object to come to auction. It is particularly special as it is only one of six made for those closest to the author throughout the journey of creating the Harry Potter series, gifted to the man who recognised the brilliance of JK Rowling’s writing and her potential impact on children’s literature.”

Originally published on The Guardian.

News translated by: Beatriz Souza