J.K. Rowling’s Writing Chair With Harry Potter’s Signature Scar To Be Auctioned
Harry Potter fans might want to watch for the auctioning of J.K. Rowling’s chair that was used when she penned the first two books of the iconic series. The auction will take place in New York next month for the benefit of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
Rowling donated the chair in 2002 to a small auction, Chair-ish a Child. A portion of the proceeds, amounting to $21,340, went to NSPCC. Seven years later, the chair reappeared on eBay, where the lucky bidder snatched it for approximately $29,117.
According to the Guardian, bidding for the chair will start at $45,000. Harry Potter fans will be delighted to find out that the British novelist added personal touches to the chair. On the chair’s slats and sides is a special line by Rowling, saying that while the chair isn’t exactly pretty, it witnessed the initial creation of the renowned series.
The chair also bears Rowling’s signature as well as painted lightning bolts reminiscent of the scars of The Boy Who Lived. The word “Gryffindor” – the house Harry and his friends belonged to – was also scrawled along the chair’s surface. In a letter Rowling penned for the future winner of the auction, she claimed that the 1930s oak dining chair was originally a part of a mismatched dining room set.
“Dear new-owner-of-my-chair ~ / I was given four mismatched dining room chairs in 1995 and this was the comfiest one, which is why it ended up stationed permanently in front of my typewriter… My nostalgic side is quite sad to see it go, but my back isn’t.”
She selected the chair and positioned it in front of her typewriter, as it was the most comfortable one. Inside her Edinburgh council flat, she was able to come up with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Interested parties may submit their bids via Heritage Auctions beginning March 18, while the official auction will take place on April 6. Heritage Auctions’ Director of Rare Books James Gannon told the Guardian that bidding would be fierce for one of the fandom’s finest collectibles.
“I think it easily could best $100,000 too. For me, what’s important about the chair is that [Rowling] basically created a unique artwork that’s self-reflexive. It’s all about her creation.”
The chair isn’t the only Harry Potter memorabilia that has attracted attention in the past. In 2013, an edition of the first book with 22 illustrations done by Rowling sold for more than $200,000. Nonetheless, this amount pales in comparison with the $4 million paid for the manuscript of Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard in 2007.
The book was handwritten and illustrated by the author herself. She gave six copies to people who helped Harry Potter become phenomenal and auctioned the final copy with the help of Amazon for the benefit of Rowling’s own charity, Lumos.
Meanwhile, Harry Potter fans can also make the most out of the old versions of their books. AbeBooks recently sold a 1996 edition of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for a staggering $37,151.98. As per the company, only 500 copies of the early hardback edition went out for sale, making them rare.
Potterheads will know if their copies are limited editions if there’s a print line that reads “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1” and if the author credit lists “Joanne Rowling” and not “J.K. Rowling.” Other early U.S. and Australian editions are believed to be worth a fortune as well.
[Image via Heritage Auctions]
