AGI – The original watercolor illustration of the first edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, the book that introduced the world to the young bespectacled wizard, will be auctioned on Wednesday in New York. The work of Thomas Taylor, who was just 23 years old in 1997 when he painted the iconic image of the boy with the lightning bolt scar and round glasses, it is expected to be sold at auction at Sotheby’s for between $400,000 and $600,000.
Taylor worked in a children’s bookstore in Cambridgein England, when he was commissioned by publisher Barry Cunningham of Bloomsbury to paint the image for JK Rowling’s book, which was due to be released in London on 26 June 1997. According to Sotheby’s book specialist Kalika Sands, he was one of first to read the book, obtaining a first copy of the manuscript which served as the basis for his artwork.
“So he knew the world before anyone else and it was up to him to think about how to visualize Harry Potter,” Sands told AFP.
Rowling and Taylor were unknown when the book was published, and few expected it would become a global phenomenon. According to Sotheby’s, only 500 copies of the first edition were printed, 300 of which were sent to libraries. But the book soon became a mass bestseller.
Twenty-seven years later, the so-called “Potterverse” includes Rowling’s seven original books, a successful film series, a critically acclaimed stage play, and video games. Over 500 million copies of the books have been sold in 80 languages.
“It is exciting to see the painting that marks the beginning of my career, decades later and brighter than ever,” Taylor, now an author and illustrator of children’s books, said in a statement released by Sotheby’s.
“As I write and illustrate my stories today, I am proud to look back at these magical beginnings,” Taylor added.
The first time the illustration was offered at auction by Sotheby’s in London in 2001, it was awarded for sun £85,750 (about $108,500 at current exchange rates) – but only four books had been published at the time. The illustration is part of a collection of manuscripts and rare book editions for sale, which also includes works by some literary greats, including Edgar Allan Poe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain and Charles Dickens. The collection belonged to surgeon Rodney Swantko, who died in 2002 at the age of 82.
