Rare Handwritten Book by J.K. Rowling Sells for an Insane Amount at Auction
As any Harry Potter fan will know, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a book of fairytales that Albus Dumbledore gave to Hermione Granger in the seventh and final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The book proved important because it contained clues that were crucial to Harry Potter's final mission to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes (for any Harry Potter novice, a Horcrux is an object in which a dark wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul).
What some fans of the series might not know is that in 2007, J.K. Rowling, the author of the series, actually hand wrote and illustrated seven copies of the The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Six of them were given as personal gifts by the author to those most closely connected to the Harry Potter series, and the seventh was auctioned by Sotheby's to raise money for Rowling's charity, Lumos. It sold for a record-breaking £1.95 million (over $2.42 million).
Sotheby's auctioned another copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard in London on December 13th 2016, during its English Literature, History, Children's Books, and Illustrations sale. It sold for an astounding £368,750 (over $468,000), within the estimate of £300,000 and £500,000 ($372,492-$620,820). The book was given by Rowling to her British published Barry Cunningham, who accepted the first Harry Potter book for publication and helped launch the author's career as an international bestseller.
The book is bound in brown Moroccan leather and decorated with sterling silver skull ornaments and seven mounted rhodochrosite stones, which Rowling noted are traditionally associated with love, balance, and joy in daily life.
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