On Wednesday, a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard sold for £1,950,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in London, England. The book, handwritten and illustrated by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, was auctioned off for charity—specifically to raise money for The Children’s Voice, a campaign run by the Children’s High Level Group, which seeks to make life better for vulnerable children across Europe (Rowling co-founded the organization with Baroness Emma Nicolson in 2005). The selling price is by far the most paid for a modern literary manuscript (Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate was £30,000-50,000, although they did recognize that, as a collectible, it was very difficult to value).
Hazlitt Gooden & Fox, a fine-art dealer in London, finally triumped over five others in a hard-fought bidding war, though it has since been revealed that Amazon.com was the actual buyer. Amazon has posted images of the book—and will be posting more—on this page.
The physical book—bound in brown Morocco leather and mounted with hand-chased silver ornaments and seven moonstones—is one of only seven that Rowling created. The others, she says, were given to people who have been most closely involved with Harry Potter over the last 17 years.