A handwritten copy of J K Rowling’s story collection The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which she made for the publisher who first accepted Harry Potter for publication, is set to fetch up to £500,000 when it is auctioned next month.
Rowling handwrote and illustrated six copies of her collection of fairytales set in the Harry Potter universe, giving them as presents to “those most closely connected to the Harry Potter books”. A seventh copy, which Rowling made to raise money for her charity Lumos, was sold at auction by Sotheby’s in 2007 for £1.95mn.
The manuscript, which Sotheby’s will auction in London on December 13 with a guide price of between £300,000 and £500,000, was made for publisher Barry Cunningham, who signed up Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone for Bloomsbury.
Cunningham was sent the manuscript of The Tales of Beedle the Bard on December 12, 2007, in a white Jiffy envelope. Inside was a cloth-wrapped, leather-bound manuscript covered in semi-precious stones and featuring a silver mounted skull. A note from Rowling in the front of the edition reads: “To Barry, the man who thought an overlong novel about a boy wizard in glasses might just sell … THANK YOU.”
The Tales of Beedle the Bard play a crucial role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final novel in Rowling’s fantasy series. A copy is left to Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore, and contains clues used by the friends in their quest to destroy Voldemort.
“The personal resonance of this book makes this both an exceptional and highly desirable object to come to auction,” said Dr Philip W Errington, director of Sotheby’s books and manuscripts department, “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 J K Rowling’s writing and her potential impact on children’s literature.”