Original Harry Potter Cover Art Shatters Auction Records With $1.9M Sale
Sotheby's auction house announced that an artwork has become "the most valuable Harry Potter item ever sold at auction." The illustration, created by Thomas Taylor in 1997 when he was just 23 years old, depicts a young boy with a lightning bolt scar and round glasses. It was expected to fetch between $400,000 and $600,000. Taylor was working at a children's bookstore in Cambridge, England when he was commissioned by publisher Barry Cunningham at Bloomsbury to create the image for J.K. Rowling's book.
Early Involvement in the Harry Potter World
Thomas Taylor was one of the first people to read the book, as he received an early copy of the manuscript to inform his artwork. Sotheby's books specialist Kalika Sands said that Taylor "knew about the world before anybody else, and it was really up to him to think of how he visualized Harry Potter." At the time of the book's release, both Rowling and Taylor were unknown, and few anticipated the global phenomenon it would become.
Only 500 copies of the first edition were printed, with 300 sent to libraries. However, the book quickly became a bestseller. Today, the "Potterverse" includes Rowling's seven original books, a blockbuster film franchise, a critically acclaimed stage play, and video games. Over 500 million copies of the books have been sold in 80 languages.
Thomas Taylor Reflects on His Career
Now a children's book author and illustrator himself, Taylor said in a statement released by Sotheby's: "It's exciting to see the painting that marks the very start of my career, decades later and as bright as ever." He added: "As I write and illustrate my own stories today, I am proud to look back on such magical beginnings."
The illustration was previously auctioned at Sotheby's in London in 2001 for £85,750 (about $108,500 at current exchange rates). At that time, only four of Rowling's books had been published.
Sign in with Google