Amazon must want news stories with the words “Amazon” and “Book” in the title to help promote the Kindle, because how else can you justify spending $3.98 million for one of seven hand-written volumes of J.K. Rowling’s “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” (A real life version of the book that was a collection of fairy tales that Dumbledoor gave to Hermione to help them find Lord Voldermort in the last Harry Potter book.)
Rowling created seven copies of the book, then gave six away to friends and family, with one remaining for public sale. While the book was estimated to sell for $100,000, bidding soon turned that number into the tax, and Amazon paid out a hefty fee for the limited edition piece of history.
All is not lost though: The proceeds form the book go towards a charity that Rowling co-founded called Children’s Voice.
In addition, the Sotheby’s sale broke a number of records:
The highest price achieved at auction for a modern literary manuscript.
The highest price achieved at auction for a work by J.K. Rowling.
The highest price achieved at auction for a children’s book.
It’s the end of an era. Harry Potter has reached his seventh and final installment, and on July 21, 2007, when he enters the Deathly Hallows, his reign as king of childhood reading will come to an end; and with that end, the series and the story must come to a close as well. All beginnings will have their endings. All loose ends will be tied up. All will be revealed. Or maybe not. Maybe, J.K. Rowling has one last trick left up her sleeve, and on July 21, the dream will live on in the hearts and minds of readers young and old across the country. Thankfully, Amazon is holding a pre-order to end all pre-orders, guaranteeing that you’ll be the first on the block to lay your hands on what’s sure to be a hot piece of literary property. Get ready, the magic is coming.
Patrick Acton took two and a half years, used over 600,000 matchsticks, and dabbed on 15 gallons of carpenter’s wood glue to create his version of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Sadly, he’s not a wizard, as I imagine this would have been a lot easier if he could have put it together with magic.
FlapArt makes book covers that are sure to surprise those around you. Now you can cover up your latest installment of Harry Potter with titles like How to Murder a Complete Stranger and Get Away with It, How to Make Your Mother A Porn Star, and Perfecting the Art of Fart Projection if you want a little private time on the subway.
