A

HISTORY

OF

M AG

IC

–

–

THE OFFICIAL COMPANION TO THE BRITISH LIBRARY EXHIBITION AT THE

CONTENTS

FOREWORD BY LOUISE MIRRER

INTRODUCTION BY JULIAN HARRISON

CHAPTER ONE: THE JOURNEY

CHAPTER TWO: POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

CHAPTER THREE: HERBOLOGY

CHAPTER FOUR: CHARMS

CHAPTER FIVE: ASTRONOMY

CHAPTER SIX: DIVINATION

CHAPTER SEVEN: DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

CHAPTER EIGHT: CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

CHAPTER NINE: PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

INDEX OF EXHIBITS AND CREDITS

29

11

6

57

105

144

177

202

236

273

345

367
l l l l l l l l l l l l

6

Louise Mirrer

President and CEO,

New-York Historical Society

F O R E W O R D

“History Matters” has long been the motto of the New-

York Historical Society, New York's first museum and

distinguished research library, founded in 1804. How

true this motto rings with the launch of the British

Library's magnificent exhibition, Harry Potter: A History

of Magic, at New-York Historical in October 2018.

At once drawing on the global phenomenon of J.K.

Rowling's Harry Potter novels and the traditions of

folklore and magic that underpin them, the exhibition

shows, above all, how art, artifacts, and documents of

the past were indispensable to one of our contemporary

era's most creative minds. The exhibition also

underscores the importance of institutions such as the

FOREWORD

7

British Library and New-York Historical, each a great

repository of documents and ephemera whose value

and interest go well beyond the merely antiquarian.

Rare books, manuscripts, and magical objects from

our two institutions, as well as from US Harry Potter

publisher Scholastic and other collections, breathe new

life into the annals of the distant past as they illuminate

the fascinating and more recent chapter begun with J.K.

Rowling's books.

The exhibition's opening at New-York Historical

marks the 20th anniversary of the US publication

of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a book that

introduced an entire generation of Americans (including

my son, Malcolm) to the pleasures of reading. Among

the great strengths of the exhibition, and offering its

own particular delights, is the chance for these first-

generation Harry Potter readers—and indeed all of

the visitors to the show—to experience a new and

perhaps unexpected lens through which to understand

Harry Potter's world. At New-York Historical, we

are glad to be able to showcase in New York some

treasures from our library and museum which were

not on view in London last year, including John James

Audubon's original watercolor of the Snowy Owl

(recalling Harry's pet owl, Hedwig); an original printing

of Cotton Mather's The Wonders of the Invisible World,

the minister's defense of his role in the infamous Salem

witch trials; and a manuscript notebook from the 1720s

with an unidentified navigator's notations charting

the nighttime sky, including the constellations that

FOREWORD

8

inspired the name of Sirius Black and other Harry Potter

characters. At the same time, we could not be more

thrilled than to display the tremendous materials that

were a part of the British Library exhibition in 2017 and

are on loan to us.

It is through exhibitions such as Harry Potter:

A History of Magic that great collections such as

those that reside at the British Library and New-York

Historical are able to enjoy a broad appeal. Still, this

can only happen successfully when these collections

are treated with the utmost respect, artistry, and

intellect by talented and highly skilled women and

men. We are grateful to our colleagues at the British

Library, above all to Roly Keating, Jamie Andrews,

Shona Connechen, and exhibition curators Julian

Harrison, Alexander Lock, Tanya Kirk, and Joanna

Norledge for their generous collaboration with us;

as well as Ellie Berger, Emily Clement, Arthur Levine,

David Saylor, Rachel Coun, Lizette Serrano, Charisse

Meloto, and Kris Moran at Scholastic who worked to

bring this exhibition and book to splendid fruition. We

are also indebted to the local institutions whose loans

have greatly enhanced the New York presentation:

American Museum of Natural History, Beinecke Rare

Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University, Brooklyn

Museum, The Explorers Club, Metropolitan Museum

of Art, and New York Botanical Garden. At New-York

Historical, Margi Hofer, Gerhard Schlanzky, Cristian

Petru Panaite, Jennifer Schantz, Emily Croll, Ines Aslan,

and many other colleagues have contributed in ways

FOREWORD

9

too numerous to denominate. Cristian Petru Panaite

and Margi Hofer, along with Rebecca Klassen, Marilyn

Kushner, Nicole Mahoney, Roberta Olson, and Edward

O'Reilly, made important contributions to this volume,

as did New-York Historical trustee Agnes Hsu-Tang.

I always reserve my greatest gratitude for New-York

Historical's dedicated and generous Trustees, led by

Chair Pam Schafler. Many thanks to all!

FOREWORD

10

11

Julian Harrison

British Library, Lead Curator

Harry Potter: A History

Of Magic

INTRODUCTION

J.K. Rowling's Harry

Potter novels are a global

phenomenon. The stories

have sold millions of copies worldwide, have been

translated into dozens of languages, and inspired

countless readers, young and old. But how many of

those readers have paused to reflect on the magical

traditions that lie at the heart of Harry Potter's world?

Harry Potter: A History of Magic is the first major

exhibition to explore this rich and diverse aspect of J.K.

Rowling's stories. From ancient amulets to medieval

mandrakes, from unicorns (they really did exist) to

bubbling cauldrons, there are often historical and

mythological antecedents for the characters and scenes

in the Harry Potter series. The exhibition strives to tell

some of these stories and to celebrate the inspiration

behind J.K. Rowling's own spellbinding creations.

The exhibition features many precious artifacts

relating to the Harry Potter books and magic through

the ages. First and foremost are items associated with

J.K. Rowling. These include fascinating early drafts of

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter

12

INTRODUCTION

and the Deathly Hallows; original drawings by the

author; and intricately worked-out plot plans for Harry

Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Each and every

one of these treasures bears testament to the author's

creativity and craftsmanship, and to the enduring

appeal of the world she invented.

We are also delighted to showcase some of the

original artwork of the artists Jim Kay, Mary GrandPré,

Brian Selznick, and Olivia Lomenech Gill. Jim Kay has

been commissioned to create fully illustrated editions

of the Harry Potter novels, the first three of which have

already been published to widespread international

acclaim. Mary GrandPré is the illustrator of the iconic

original American book jackets, giving US readers their

first look at Harry. Brian Selznick has designed brand-

new covers for the books in celebration of the 20th

anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in

the United States, while Olivia Lomenech Gill is the

artist of the illustrated edition of Fantastic Beasts and

Where to Find Them. We are extremely grateful to all

four for their generous involvement and support.

13

It is an equal pleasure to present items from the

British Library's own unrivaled collections, many

of which have never previously been considered in

this wider, magical context. On display are Greek

papyri, Ethiopian talismans, Chinese herbals, French

phoenixes, and Thai horoscopes. Harry Potter fans

can pore over Leonardo da Vinci's notebook, marvel

INTRODUCTION

14

at the Dunhuang Star Atlas, and gaze in amazement

at the alchemist in the Splendor Solis. Visitors to New

York will also be able to see a number of astonishing

artifacts from the New-York Historical Society, foremost

among which is the original watercolor of the Snowy

Owl for Audubon's Birds of America, made in 1829.

To complement these objects, we are also thrilled to

have secured some amazing loans from a number of

institutions and private individuals.

Harry Potter: A History of Magic is framed around

some of the subjects studied at Hogwarts School of

Witchcraft and Wizardry. There is Potions (and its

more advanced cousin, Alchemy), Herbology, Charms,

Astronomy, Divination, Defense Against the Dark Arts,

and Care of Magical Creatures. Focusing on each of

these subjects has enabled the exhibition curators to

delve deeper into the theme of enchantment through

the ages. Potion-making, fortune-telling, harvesting

herbs and spells to make you invisible all make an

appearance. In the process, we have uncovered

intriguing facts about many of the exhibits. Did you

know, for example, that Leonardo da Vinci believed

that the Sun rotated around the Earth? Were you aware

that the “Abracadabra” charm first originated as a

cure for malaria? How many people knew that some

unicorns had two horns? Some of these facts, quite

frankly, border on the absurd—according to The Old

Egyptian Fortune-Teller's Last Legacy, which we examine

in Divination, “a mole on the buttock denotes honor to a

man and riches to a woman.”

INTRODUCTION

15

INTRODUCTION

The Harry Potter stories are rooted in centuries of

popular tradition. Predicting the future, for instance, has

a long history. One of the oldest items in the exhibition

is a Chinese oracle bone, on loan from the Metropolitan

Museum of Art. These ancient bones can date back as far

as 1600 B.C.E., and were used for a divination ritual at the

16

court of the Shang Dynasty. Such artifacts were known

historically as “dragon bones,” emphasizing their magical

qualities.

The ancient art of alchemy is at the heart of the

first story, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In that

book, the mysterious Stone in question had been taken

in secret to Hogwarts School, where it was being guarded

by a monstrous three-headed dog named Fluffy and a

series of protective spells placed upon it by the teachers.

It was Hermione Granger who was the first to realize the

significance of a certain Nicolas Flamel. Having spent

several frustrating weeks with Harry and Ron Weasley in

the library, she suddenly pulled out an old book that she

had put aside for a bit of light reading.

“Nicolas Flamel,” she whispered dramatically, “is the

only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!”

According to this ancient tome, Flamel was a noted

alchemist and opera-lover, aged 665, who was living

quietly in Devon with his wife, Perenelle. What readers

of the Harry Potter stories may not have realized is that

Flamel was a real person, a wealthy landlord who lived

in medieval Paris, where he died in 1418. One of the

star items in the exhibition is the actual headstone that

marked the real Flamel's tomb, on loan from the Musée

national du Moyen Âge in Paris.

Firenze the centaur was another to play a significant

part in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, saving Harry

from danger in the Forbidden Forest before going on to

INTRODUCTION

17

teach Divination at Hogwarts in the later books. In Greek

mythology, Chiron was the greatest of all centaurs,

renowned as a physician and astrologer. According to a

medieval herbal in our exhibition, the plants known as

Centauria major and Centauria minor (greater and lesser

centaury) were named after Chiron. He is shown in that

manuscript handing over these plants to Asclepius, the

god of medicine and healing. Centaury was renowned

as a remedy for snakebite. Fans of Harry Potter will also

be familiar with Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. Many

of J.K. Rowling's characters are named after stars and

constellations, and our exhibition features a medieval

illustration of the constellation Canis Major, in which is

found the Dog Star, also known as Sirius, the brightest

star in the night sky.

Witches and wizards have long been associated

with cauldrons and broomsticks. Included in the

exhibition is the first printed image of witches with

a cauldron, found in a book published in Germany in

1489. This illustration shows two elderly women placing

a snake and a cockerel into a large cauldron, in a bid

to summon up a hailstorm. Popular perceptions of

witches as ugly, haggard, and demonic can ultimately be

traced to this highly influential publication. One of the

weirdest objects on display is a real witch's cauldron

owned by the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in

Boscastle, England. The cauldron in question reportedly

exploded when a group of witches were brewing a

potion on the beach (think Neville Longbottom); the

inside is now coated with a thick, tarry residue.

INTRODUCTION

18

Every witch or wizard, so we have always been

led to believe, should be able to fly on a broomstick.

As Kennilworthy Whisp noted in Quidditch Through the

Ages, “No Muggle illustration of a witch is complete

without a broom.” We are very happy to be showing

in our exhibition a traditional witch's broomstick with

an elaborately colored handle. Its former owner, Olga

Hunt of Manaton in Devon, used this broomstick for

magical purposes—on a Full Moon she is said to have

leaped around Haytor Rocks on Dartmoor, much to

the alarm of courting couples and campers. There is

also a little book entitled The History of the Lancashire

Witches, describing that English county as “famous

for witches and the very strange pranks they have

played.” Alongside a picture of a jolly witch mounting

a broomstick, the anonymous author declares,

“Lancashire witches chiefly divert themselves in

merriment and sport” and are “more sociable than any

others.”

Harry Potter fans will be familiar with the

hazardous properties of mandrakes. According to

medieval herbals, mandrakes could cure headaches,

earache, and insanity, but their roots grew in human

form and would shriek when torn. A 15th-century

British Library manuscript shows the approved way

to harvest that plant, by attaching one end of a cord

to the plant and the other to a dog. The dog would be

encouraged to move forward by sounding a horn or

enticing it with meat, dragging the mandrake with it.

There were a number of comparable drawings that

INTRODUCTION

20

we could have shown alongside this manuscript, but

we plumped eventually for a 14th-century illustrated

herbal, containing an Arabic translation of the writings

of Pedanius Dioscorides, a physician in the Roman

army. Dioscorides was one of the first to distinguish

between the male and female mandrake (or maybe

we should rename them the “mandrake” and the

“womandrake”). Sadly for the romanticists among us,

modern science now dictates that this identification is

incorrect—there is more than one mandrake species

native to the Mediterranean, rather than two separate

sexes of the same plant.

This exhibition is alive with tales of human

enterprise and endeavor. Elizabeth Blackwell illustrated,

engraved, and hand-colored her Curious Herbal to

raise funds to have her husband, Alexander, released

from a debtors' prison. Alexander Blackwell assisted

by identifying the plants she had drawn at Chelsea

Physic Garden in London, until such time as she had

absolved the debt. Once released he repaid his wife's

kindness by leaving for Sweden, entering the service

of King Frederick I, and getting himself executed for

his involvement in a political conspiracy. The poignant

copy of A Curious Herbal on display in Harry Potter:

A History of Magic has been annotated in Elizabeth

Blackwell's own hand.

Some magical advice dispensed over the centuries

now seems rather quaint in a modern context. Quintus

Serenus Sammonicus, physician to the Emperor

Caracalla, recommended that the “Abracadabra”

INTRODUCTION

21

charm should be worn as an amulet around the neck,

fixed with either flax, coral stones, or the fat of a lion.

An Ethiopian charm for changing oneself into various

animals, and for which there is no counter-charm, reads

as follows:

With red ink, write these secret names on a piece of

white silk. To transform yourself into a lion, tie the

silk to your head; to become a python, tie it on your

arm; to turn into an eagle, tie it on your shoulder.

Magical creatures abound in the Harry Potter novels.

Many of these fantastic beasts are J.K. Rowling's own

creations, but others have illustrious precedents.

Did you know that the French author Guy de la Garde

devoted an entire study to the phoenix, entitled

L'Histoire et description du Phoenix? The British

Library's copy of this book is printed on vellum and

contains a hand-colored picture of a phoenix emerging

from a burning tree. A 13th-century bestiary also

describes the “Fenix” in great detail. According to that

manuscript, this mythical bird is so called because its

color is “Phoenician purple,” it is native to Arabia, and

it can live for 500 years. In old age, the phoenix is said

to create its own funeral pyre from branches and leaves,

before fanning the flames with its own wings, in order

to be consumed by the fire. After the ninth day, it rises

again from the ashes.

In the second task of the Triwizard Tournament,

relayed in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry

INTRODUCTION

23

encountered a choir of merpeople in the black lake

at Hogwarts. Merpeople were also once intended to

feature at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Chamber

of Secrets, before the author had a change of mind. In a

draft chapter subsequently rewritten by J.K. Rowling,

the Ford Anglia flown by Ron and Harry originally

crashed into the lake rather than into the Whomping

Willow, leading them to see their first mermaid:

Her lower body was a great, scaly fishtail the color

of gun-metal; ropes of shells and pebbles hung about

her neck; her skin was a pale, silver y grey and her

eyes, flashing in the headlights, looked dark and

threatening.

This description, although never published, echoes

historical accounts of mermaids and mermen, creatures

that were renowned, somewhat sinisterly, for luring

people into the sea. On loan from the Horniman

Museum in London is a specimen of a “real” merman,

with large staring eyes and protruding teeth. In actual

fact it is a fake. Scientific analysis shows that its head

was made by wrapping bundles of fiber around a stick

of wood, coated with clay and then covered with papier-

mâché; the jaws and tail were taken from a fish.

No exhibition about the world of Harry Potter

would be complete without mentioning the most

magical of mythical creatures, the unicorn. Unicorns—

and unicorn blood—played a key part in Voldemort's

continued survival in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's

INTRODUCTION

24

Stone. The blood, hair, and horn of the unicorn have

long been supposed to have medicinal properties,

according to medieval folklore. In mythology, the

creature came in all shapes and sizes. A poem by the

Byzantine writer Manuel Philes described the unicorn

as a wild beast with the tail of a boar and a lion's mouth,

while Pierre Pomet's Histoire générale des Drogues

illustrated five species, including one, somewhat

ironically, with two horns, known as the pirassoipi.

When I discover a beautifully imagined basilisk

that has been hidden for centuries inside the pages of

a bestiary, carefully unfurl an illuminated scroll that

promises to reveal the secrets of the Philosopher's

Stone, or breathe in the earthy pages of a centuries-old

herbal, my connection to our magical past becomes

tangible and real. Now I invite you to share in this rare

enchantment. Many treasures await—whether you are

curled up on the sofa with this book upon your lap

or exploring the exhibition at the New-York Historical

Society. As you gaze at the astonishing collection of

artifacts in Harry Potter: A History of Magic, we hope you

will be spellbound too.

INTRODUCTION

26

P.S. You were wondering, of course, how to make

yourself invisible. According to one 17th-century

manuscript entitled The Book of King Solomon Called

The Key of Knowledge, you simply have to recite the

following words. Go ahead and try, but please don't

blame us if the charm doesn't work!

Stabbon, Asen, Gabellum, Saneney, Noty, Enobal,

Labonerem, Balametem, Balnon, Tygumel, Millegaly,

Juneneis, Hearma, Hamorache, Yesa, Seya, Senoy,

Henen, Barucatha, Acararas, Taracub, Bucarat,

Caramy, by the mercy whitch you beare towardes

mann kynde, make me to be invysible.

INTRODUCTION

PORTRAIT OF HARRY

POTTER BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

31

THE JOURNEY

THE BOY WHO LIVED

In this preparatory sketch by Jim Kay, Harry Potter

is shown with his glasses taped up at the bridge

and dark hair that just never would lie flat. He looks

askance to the side with a cheeky glint in his eyes,

reminiscent of his father's mischievous nature. At this

stage, no color has been added to the image because

Kay often digitally layers color over the original

drawing—we cannot see the green color of Harry's

eyes, a reminder of his mother, Lily. Harry Potter's

youth and unworldliness at the beginning of the story

is captured perfectly in this image, but it also looks

like he may be the possessor of a wonderful secret.

Kay's sketch invites us to reflect on the development

of Harry's character throughout the books, from the

wide-eyed child to the brave young man who stands

up against Lord Voldemort.

32

“Jim Kay's portrait brings to life a

young boy who seems both innocent

and fragile. His large, expressive

eyes, however, suggest a depth

of character hidden beneath the

surface. We get the feeling that there

is a lot more about Harry Potter for

us to discover . . .”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

THE JOURNEY

HARRY LOOKED UP INTO THE

FIERCE, WILD, SHADOWY FACE AND

SAW THAT THE BEETLE EYES WERE

CRINKLED IN A SMILE. “LAS'

TIME I SAW YOU, YOU WAS ONLY

A BABY,” SAID THE GIANT. “YEH

LOOK A LOT LIKE YER DAD, BUT

YEH'VE GOT YER MUM'S EYES.”

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

33

THE JOURNEY

34

SYNOPSIS OF HARRY POTTER AND

THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE BY J.K.

ROWLING (1995)

J.K. Rowling

THE JOURNEY

35

THE AUTHOR'S SYNOPSIS

This is the original synopsis of the first Harry Potter

book, typed to accompany the opening chapters of

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (later published

as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US) and

circulated among prospective agents and publishers.

With folded corners, tea stains, and crumpled grip

marks at the bottom, it is a document that has clearly

been read and handled a great deal. From the very

beginning, the lessons at Hogwarts were part of what

makes Harry Potter's world so captivating. In just a

few short lines, J.K. Rowling makes learning magic

sound like amazing fun. Who wouldn't want to study

Astronomy “in the tallest tower at two in the morning”

and Herbology in the greenhouses “where the mandrake

and wolfsbane are kept”?

THE JOURNEY

36

“POSSIBLY ONE OF THE

BEST BOOKS AN 8/9 YEAR

OLD COULD READ”

Prior to being accepted for publication in the UK by

Bloomsbury, the manuscript of Harry Potter and the

Philosopher's Stone was famously offered to some

eight publishers, all of whom rejected it. Nigel Newton,

founder and Chief Executive of Bloomsbury, took the

manuscript home and gave it to his eight-year-old

daughter, Alice. Alice read the chapters, which went

as far as Diagon Alley, and then gave her verdict, as

preserved in this charming note. For long after she

pestered her father to bring home the remainder of

the manuscript. Alice's intervention was crucial: At

the following day's acquisitions meeting, Newton

approved editor Barry Cunningham's proposal that

The Philosopher's Stone be published by Bloomsbury,

leading to what is widely regarded as the most

successful venture in children's publishing history.

THE JOURNEY

37

READER'S REPORT OF ALICE NEWTON,

AGED EIGHT, ON

HARRY POTTER AND

THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

Nigel Newton (Chief Executive, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc)

THE JOURNEY

38

DRAWING OF HARRY POTTER AND

THE DURSLEYS BY J.K. ROWLING (19 91)

J.K. Rowling

THE JOURNEY

39

HARRY POTTER AND THE DURSLEYS

Made several years before the publication of The

Philosopher's Stone, this early drawing by J.K. Rowling

makes it instantly clear that Harry does not belong in

the Dursley family. The boy's baggy T-shirt emphasizes

his frailty in comparison to his sturdier relatives.

Dudley Dursley has been drawn with his arms folded in

a permanent sulk and a large piggy nose that makes him

appear particularly beastly. Uncle Vernon stands glaring

behind, while Aunt Petunia protectively clasps her son's

shoulder. Despite the misery he experienced living at

Privet Drive, Harry is the only person who seems able

to raise a smile.

THE JOURNEY

40

THE JOURNEY

41

LETTER FROM ARTHUR LEVINE

TO J.K. ROWLING

(DECEMBER 19, 1997)

Scholastic

THE JOURNEY

42

HARRY POTTER AND THE...

In December 1997, seven months prior to the

publication of the first Harry Potter book in America,

Scholastic editor Arthur Levine wrote to the then

relatively unknown British author J.K. Rowling to

suggest an alternative title. Concerned that the

Philosopher's Stone title didn't perfectly reflect the

humor and the wide range of magic in the book (which

contained far more than alchemy), Levine suggested

changing the title to a more comprehensive and playful

one: Harry Potter and the School of Magic. The choice

did not feel right to the thirty-two-year-old author who

countered with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,

a title that would launch Potter mania in the United

States. The question of changing the title was resolved

relatively quickly—in the letter from Rowling to Levine

written about a month later, the Sorcerer's Stone title

is already in place. Levine's School of Magic title idea

did not disappear altogether. The French edition of The

Philosopher's Stone, for example, was renamed Harry

Potter à L'école des Sorciers.

THE JOURNEY

43

A SCARLET STEAM ENGINE WAS WAITING

NEXT TO A PLATFORM PACKED WITH

PEOPLE. A SIGN OVERHEAD SAID HOGWARTS

EXPRESS, ELEVEN O'CLOCK.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS

The painting by Jim Kay on the next page is a

preliminary version of the artwork featured on the front

cover of the illustrated edition of The Sorcerer's Stone.

It shows the busy platform nine and three-quarters at

King's Cross as students board the Hogwarts Express

at the beginning of term. Harry Potter is singled out,

standing with his loaded trolley and Hedwig amidst the

hustle and bustle of families seeing off their children.

The Hogwarts Express has a fierce, fire-breathing animal

head decorating the top of its chimney and a shining

bright light—a small winged hog sits at the very front,

a nod to the name of Hogwarts. This journey marked

Harry's transition to the world of magic, away from the

Muggle-realm of the Dursleys.

THE JOURNEY

STUDY OF PLATFORM NINE AND THREE-

QUARTERS

BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

FOREWORD

SKETCH OF HOGWARTS BY J.K. ROWLING

Bloomsbury

47

WELCOME TO HOGWARTS

This annotated sketch by J.K. Rowling shows the

layout of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,

complete with the giant squid that lives in the lake.

In an accompanying note addressed to her editor,

J.K. Rowling stated, “This is the layout as I've always

imagined it.” The sketch provides a vital stepping-stone

between the author's imagination and the world she

has brought to life for so many readers. Note how the

author insists that the “Whomping Willow must stand

out,” recognizing its significance in The Chamber of

Secrets and The Prisoner of Azkaban.

SLIPPING AND STUMBLING, THEY FOLLOWED

HAGRID DOWN WHAT SEEMED TO BE A

STEEP, NARROW PATH [...] THERE WAS A

LOUD “OOOOOH!” THE NARROW PATH HAD

OPENED SUDDENLY ON TO THE EDGE OF A

GREAT BLACK LAKE. PERCHED ATOP A HIGH

MOUNTAIN ON THE OTHER SIDE, ITS WINDOWS

SPARKLING IN THE STARRY SKY, WAS A VAST

CASTLE WITH MANY TURRETS AND TOWERS.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

THE JOURNEY

48

PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE

This portrait of Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian

Dumbledore shows him gazing intently toward the

right with bright blue eyes. A gargoyle vase sits on

the table containing the dried branch of the plant of

Lunaria annua or “honesty,” known for its translucent

seedpods. There is also a small flask, containing what

might well be dragon's blood, referring to the wizard's

achievement of discovering all twelve uses of the

magical substance. Dumbledore's favorite sweets,

lemon drops, feature as one of the passwords to his

office. His knitting lies to one side, the orange wool

curling across the table. Jim Kay's portrait captures the

complexity of Dumbledore's personality—the powerful

and serious wizard with a penchant for sweets and

knitting.

THE JOURNEY

“Albus means ‘white' in Latin.

Hagrid's first name, Rubeus, means

‘red.' Harry's two father figures

symbolically represent different

stages of the alchemical process

needed to create the Philosopher's

Stone.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

49

THE JOURNEY

AND THERE, IN THE CENTER

OF THE HIGH TABLE, IN A

LARGE GOLD CHAIR, SAT

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE. HARRY

RECOGNIZED HIM AT ONCE FROM

THE CARD HE'D GOTTEN OUT OF

THE CHOCOLATE FROG ON THE

TRAIN. DUMBLEDORE'S SILVER

HAIR WAS THE ONLY THING IN

THE WHOLE HALL THAT SHONE

AS BRIGHTLY AS THE GHOSTS.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR ALBUS

DUMBLEDORE BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR MINERVA

McGONAGALL BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

52

PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL

Professor Minerva McGonagall is Deputy Headmistress,

Head of Gryffindor House, and Transfiguration teacher

at Hogwarts. Dressed in dark green with her hair

drawn back in a severe bun, this portrait captures her

intelligence and no-nonsense attitude. Her glasses sit

low on her nose, ideal for peering piercingly at students.

She is named “Minerva” after the Roman goddess of

wisdom—her surname echoes the notoriously bad

Scottish poet, William McGonagall. Giving such a highly

capable and intelligent character the surname of a

hopelessly awful poet is an example of the humor and

wit employed throughout the world of Harry Potter.

A TALL, BLACK-HAIRED WITCH IN

EMERALD-GREEN ROBES STOOD THERE.

SHE HAD A VERY STERN FACE AND

HARRY'S FIRST THOUGHT WAS THAT

THIS WAS NOT SOMEONE TO CROSS.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

THE JOURNEY

53

THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD

In the final Harry Potter novel, Dumbledore bequeaths

his own copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, written in

runes, to Hermione Granger. It contains several bedtime

stories told widely in the magical world, equivalent

to Muggle fairy tales such as those by Hans Christian

Andersen or the Brothers Grimm. One particular

story, “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” plays a vital

role in helping Harry, Hermione, and Ron uncover

three legendary magical objects known as the Deathly

Hallows—the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and

the Invisibility Cloak. This copy of Beedle the Bard

was handwritten and illustrated by J.K. Rowling and

embellished with rhodochrosite stones, associated

with love and balance. It was originally gifted to Barry

Cunningham, who accepted the first Harry Potter book

for publication in the UK by Bloomsbury.

THE JOURNEY

54

THE JOURNEY

THE TALES OF BEEDLE

THE BARD BY J.K. ROWLING

Private Owner

!

55

WRITTEN IN RUNES

Runes are the characters of an early Germanic writing

system, used in parts of northern Europe from roughly

the 2nd century C.E. to the early 16th century. They

have long been understood to possess magical

qualities. The common Germanic root of the word

“rune” is run, which meant “mystery” or “secrecy” in the

languages—Old Norse, Old High German, Old English—

that employed these characters. Although runes

are no longer written today, their symbols

are still commonly used in magic.

Made from antler, these

divination discs are

inscribed with red runes,

and are meant to be

scattered and then

interpreted.

RUNE ANTLER DISCS

The Museum of Witchcraft

and Magic, Boscastle

THE JOURNEY

PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR SEVERUS

SNAPE BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

59

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

“I DON'T EXPECT YOU WILL

REALLY UNDERSTAND THE

BEAUTY OF THE SOFTLY

SIMMERING CAULDRON WITH

ITS SHIMMERING FUMES,

THE DELICATE POWER OF

LIQUIDS THAT CREEP THROUGH

HUMAN VEINS, BEWITCHING

THE MIND, ENSNARING

THE SENSES.... ”

—PROFESSOR SNAPE, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

THE POTIONS MASTER

This formal portrait by Jim Kay captures the sneering

Professor Snape that Harry so mistrusts in the first

book, but the objects scattered in front of him hint at

his complex character and his role in the stories.

60

1

The bottled mole signifies his role as

a spy for the Order of the Phoenix.

2

L

ilies of the valley by his hands represent his

enduring love for Harry's mother, Lily.

3

S

cissors refer to Sectumsempra, the Dark Magic spell

Snape had invented, and might also refer to the two

halves of his identity as a double agent.

4

A snake pattern decorates his shirt, while a snake clasp

pins his cloak at the neck. His green cravat and the

tabletop echo the color of his house, Slytherin. J.K.

Rowling has

explained

elsewhere

that, in the

novels, Dark

Magic is often

represented

by the color

green.

3

2

4

1

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

61

A LEAKY CAULDRON

Cauldrons are one of the most ancient and widely

recognized symbols of magic in Western culture.

Indeed, to be a strioportius (witch's cauldron carrier)

was a punishable offense in 6th-century Salic law.

All first-year students at Hogwarts were required to

pack their own cauldron when attending school. This

enchanted cooking pot is coated in a black, tarry

substance. It exploded when some Cornish witches

were concocting a powerful potion by the sea. The

group had gathered to invoke a spirit. One account

describes how, when “it was realized that the volume of

the smoke was reaching unprecedented proportions . . .

they lost their nerve and panicked and fled the spot as

best they could.”

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

HERMIONE THREW THE NEW

INGREDIENTS INTO THE CAULDRON

AND BEGAN TO STIR FEVERISHLY.

“IT'LL BE READY IN A FORTNIGHT,”

SHE SAID HAPPILY.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

62

AN EXPLODED CAULDRON (ENGLAND,

MID-20TH CENTURY)

The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

63

1

2

3

1

Ocul. Cancr. —“crabs' eyes”—stony concretions taken

from the stomachs of putrefied crayfish, prescribed to

aid digestion!

2

S

ang. Draco.V.—“Dragon's Blood,” a potent red resin that

is still widely used in medicine, magic, art, and alchemy

3

Vitriol. Coerul.— copper sulphate

A SET OF APOTHECARY JARS

(SPAIN?, 17TH OR 18TH CENTURY)

Science Museum

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

64

APOTHECARY JARS

As early as 1500 B.C.E., the ancient Egyptians

recognized that glass was an excellent vessel for storing

chemical substances—it is nonabsorbent and will not

adulterate the contents. These glass apothecary jars

used this ancient technology to store a selection of

medicinal ingredients.

PRELIMINARY PENCIL SKETCH OF POTIONS

BOTTLES BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

65

ULRICH MOLITOR, DE LANIIS ET PHITONICIS

MULIERIBUS... TRACTATUS PULCHERRIMUS

(REUTLINGEN, 1489)

British Library

“The woodcut illustration in this book was massively

influential. The image of women gathered around a

cauldron established a powerful visual iconography for

witchcraft that has lasted for centuries. Not ever ybody

can read words, but anyone can read a picture.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

66

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

FIRE BURN AND CAULDRON

BUBBLE

Although the association of cauldrons with witches

dates back to at least the 6th century, this motif did

not gain widespread acceptance until On Witches and

Female Fortune-Tellers was published in 1489. Ulrich

Molitor's book is the earliest illustrated treatise on

witchcraft and contains the first printed depiction of

witches with a cauldron. This page shows two elderly

women placing a snake and a rooster into a flaming pot

in an attempt to summon a hailstorm. The book was so

widely reproduced that it helped to consolidate modern

impressions of how witches were supposed to behave.

67

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

A POTIONS CLASS

This medieval book, Ortus Sanitatis (“The Garden of

Health”), is the first printed encyclopedia of natural

history, featuring sections devoted to plants, animals,

birds, fish, and stones. In this hand-colored woodcut

engraving we see a Potions master instructing a group

of students. He is shown wearing an ermine-lined gray

cloak, clutching

a stick in his left

hand, with his

assistant before

him holding open

a book of recipes.

It is questionable

how much

attention the

students are

paying to their

teacher.

JACOB

MEYDENBACH,

ORTUS

SANITATIS

(MAINZ, 1491)

British Library

A PHARMACY SIGN

IN THE SHAPE OF

A UNICORN'S HEAD

(18TH CENTURY)

Science Museum

69

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

“IT'S NOT EASY TER CATCH

A UNICORN, THEY'RE

POWERFUL MAGIC

CREATURES. I NEVER KNEW

ONE TER BE HURT BEFORE.”

—RUBEUS HAGRID, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

AN APOTHECARY'S SIGN

Throughout history, the blood, hair, and horns of

unicorns were believed to possess powerful medicinal

properties. Because of their rarity, they commanded

very high prices. In The Sorcerer's Stone, Voldemort

survives on unicorn blood, and potions are made

from “silver unicorn horns” that in Diagon Alley cost

“twenty-one Galleons.” This 18th-century sign from an

apothecary's shop features a very handsome unicorn.

The expertly carved sign shows the prosperity of the

apothecary and his ability to acquire precious and

exotic cures. Although the ivory horn looks like it

belongs to a genuine unicorn, this example is actually

made from a narwhal's tusk. Known as the “unicorn of

the sea,” narwhal tusks were often sold and marketed

in this way.

70

PREPPING POTION INGREDIENTS

The mortar and pestle, a bowl of wood or metal with

a club-shaped instrument for grinding ingredients into

a fine powder, was an essential tool of apothecaries

and alchemists. Hogwarts students used mortars and

pestles to prepare ingredients for potions. Typical

of sets used in the US during the 19th century, this

mortar and pestle is made of lathe-turned wood and

was used by members of the Babcock family of Rhode

Island, most likely for grinding herbs and spices. The

metal herb grinder offered an even more efficient

method: grasping the wooden handle with two hands

and rolling the heavy, sharp-edged cast-iron wheel

produced pulverized potion ingredients with minimal

effort. This boat-shaped device may have been

cast in the New Jersey iron foundry of Philadelphia

pharmacist and entrepreneur Clayton Brown Rogers.

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

71

MORTAR AND PESTLE

(UNITED STATES, 19TH CENTURY)

New-York Historical Society

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

72

HERB GRINDER

(UNITED STATES, 19TH CENTURY)

New-York Historical Society

SNAPE PUT THEM ALL INTO PAIRS AND SET

THEM TO MIXING UP A SIMPLE POTION TO

CURE BOILS. HE SWEPT AROUND IN HIS

LONG BLACK CLOAK, WATCHING THEM WEIGH

DRIED NETTLES AND CRUSH SNAKE FANGS,

CRITICIZING ALMOST EVERYONE EXCEPT

MALFOY, WHOM HE SEEMED TO LIKE.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

73

HARRY POTTER AND

THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

These two pages show annotations by J.K. Rowling and

her editor on a typed draft of Harry Potter and the

Half-Blood Prince. The action on the first page takes

place in Professor Slughorn's class. The wizard presents

a series of potions, which Hermione, naturally, is able to

identify. The added text marked by an asterisk reveals

the smells that Hermione finds attractive, including

the scent of “new parchment.” The second page is the

draft of a scene in which Harry consults the Half-Blood

Prince's copy of Advanced Potion-Making to find out

how to brew more Felix Felicis.

DRAFT OF

HARRY POTTER AND

THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

, ANNOTATED

BY J.K. ROWLING AND HER EDITOR

(CA. 2004–2005?)

Bloomsbury

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

74

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

75

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

PIERRE POMET,

A COMPLEAT HISTORY

OF DRUGGS

, 2ND EDN (LONDON, 1725)

British Library

77

THE BEZOAR GOAT

In his very first Potions lesson, Professor Snape asked

Harry Potter, “where would you look if I told you to

find me a bezoar?” Bezoars are a mass of undigested

fiber formed in the stomach of animals, and were once

believed to be an antidote to poison. They have been

found in the guts of cows and even elephants, but

mostly they come from the “bezoar goat.” Bezoars

were first introduced into medieval Europe by Arab

physicians. Although doubts were sometimes cast over

their properties, the demand continued well into the

18th century. Wealthy collectors spent considerable

sums to acquire the best “stones,” which were kept in

elaborate cases. According to A Compleat History of

Druggs, first published in French in 1694, the medicinal

strength of the bezoar depended on the animal that

produced it. “Bezoar Stones taken from Cows,” for

instance, “have nothing near the good Qualities” of the

true bezoar goat. On the other hand, a mere two grains

of “the Bezoar that is found in Apes” will have a far

greater effect than that of a mere goat. In The Half-Blood

Prince, Harry put his learning to good effect. In his

copy of Advanced Potion-Making, Harry had noticed the

instruction, “Just shove a bezoar down their throats.”

He did exactly that when Ron Weasley drank some

poisoned mead, thereby saving his friend's life.

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

78

“There are lots of interesting

stories and anecdotes about

bezoars. Scrapings of the stone

were swallowed in an attempt

to cure a range of illnesses.

Repelling poison may not have

been such a stretch, as ingesting

the stone would likely cause

vomiting.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

A BEZOAR STONE IN

A GOLD FILIGREE CASE

Science Museum

“BLIMEY, IT WAS LUCKY YOU

THOUGHT OF A BEZOAR,” SAID

GEORGE IN A LOW VOICE.

“LUCKY THERE WAS ONE IN THE

ROOM,” SAID HARRY, WHO KEPT

TURNING COLD AT THE THOUGHT

OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED

IF HE HAD NOT BEEN ABLE

TO LAY HANDS ON THE LITTLE

STONE.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

THE RIPLEY SCROLL

The Ripley Scroll is the name given to a mystical

alchemical treatise that features a series of verses

about the Elixir of Life. The scroll takes its name

from George Ripley, a canon at Bridlington Priory

in Yorkshire and a skilled alchemist. Ripley had

reportedly studied alchemy in Italy and at the

University of Louvain in modern-day Belgium. He

subsequently wrote a book on how to make the

Philosopher's Stone, known as The Compound of

Alchymy. This manuscript is based on Ripley's

teachings, and stretches almost six meters in length.

It features beautiful illustrations of dragons, toads,

"

THE RIPLEY SCROLL (ENGLAND, CA. 1570)

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

!

and a winged bird captioned, “The Bede of Hermes

is mi name, eting mi wines to make me tame.” At the

head of the scroll is a robed, bearded figure holding an

alchemical vessel. Inside two figures can be seen lifting

up the so-called “Book of Philosophy.”

“Ver y few people have seen the Ripley

Scroll in its fullest extent, simply because

it is such an enormous document.

The manuscript in its entirety is full

of symbolism—richly decorated with

creatures and motifs that represent

the alchemical process.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

"

THE RIPLEY SCROLL (ENGLAND, CA. 1570)

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University

!

82

THE ANCIENT STUDY OF

ALCHEMY IS CONCERNED

WITH MAKING THE

SORCERER'S STONE, A

LEGENDARY SUBSTANCE

WITH ASTONISHING

POWERS. THE STONE

WILL TRANSFORM ANY

METAL INTO PURE GOLD.

IT ALSO PRODUCES THE

ELIXIR OF LIFE, WHICH

WILL MAKE THE DRINKER

IMMORTAL.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

83

SPLENDOR SOLIS

Perhaps the most beautiful of all illuminated

manuscripts about alchemy, this book contains

the work known as Splendor Solis or “Splendor of

the Sun.” The authorship is unknown, but it has often

been attributed in error to Salomon Trismosin, a man

who claimed to have used the Philosopher's Stone to

conquer old age. This page shows an alchemist holding

a flask filled with a golden liquid. A black scroll emerges

out of the flask, inscribed with the words “Eamus

quesitum quatuor elementorum naturas,” Latin for

“Let us ask the four elements of nature.”

“The splendid gold border on this

page is equally as impressive

as the portrait in the center. The

frame has been painstakingly

decorated with pictures of flowers,

birds, and animals—among them

a peacock, a stag, and an owl.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

84

SPLENDOR SOLIS

(GERMANY, 1582)

British Library

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

85

BOOK OF THE SEVEN CLIMES

Abû al-Qâsim Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-‘Irâqî was

an author of books on alchemy and magic, and lived

in Egypt in the 13th century. His Book of the Seven

Climes is the earliest known study focused wholly on

alchemical illustrations. This picture was supposedly

taken from a “Hidden Book” attributed to Hermes

Trismegistus, a legendary sage-king of ancient Egypt,

believed to have mastered the secrets of alchemy and

recorded them in hieroglyphs on the walls of tombs. Al-

‘Irâqî gave each element an alchemical interpretation,

but in fact this illustration holds no such meaning!

Unbeknownst to al-‘Irâqî, the picture actually depicts

an ancient monument erected in memory of King

Amenemhat II, who ruled Egypt around 1922–1878 B.C.E.

ILLUSTRATION OF THE ALCHEMICAL

PROCESS, IN ABÛ AL-QÂSIM AL-‘IRÂQÎ,

KITÂB AL-AQÂLÎM AL-SAB‘AH

(

BOOK

OF THE SEVEN CLIMES

) (18TH CENTURY)

British Library

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

86

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

87

NICOLAS FLAMEL, ALCHEMIST

In The Sorcerer's Stone, Harry, Hermione, and Ron

spent considerable time in the library at Hogwarts

trying to identify a certain Nicolas Flamel. Eventually,

Hermione pulled out an old book she had put aside for

a bit of light reading. “‘Nicolas Flamel,' she whispered

dramatically, ‘is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's

Stone!'” According to Hermione's book, Flamel was a

noted alchemist and opera-lover, aged 665, who lived

quietly in Devon with his wife, Perenelle. Eventually,

he agreed with his friend Albus Dumbledore that the

Sorcerer's Stone should be destroyed. Flamel and his

wife had “enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in

order” before finally being laid to rest.

In reality, Flamel spent his life in medieval Paris

and was a landlord, sometimes said (incorrectly) to

have been involved in the book trade. The watercolor

illustration pictured shows a memorial to the Holy

Innocents commissioned by Nicolas and Perenelle, with

the Flamels praying at the top beside two saints. At his

reputed death in 1418, he was buried in the church of

Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie in Paris, his grave marked

by a small tombstone showing Christ flanked by Saints

Peter and Paul, along with the Sun and the Moon, and

the deceased lying below the main inscription, carved

in French.

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

88

Flamel's reputation as an alchemist derives

ultimately from posthumous accounts of his life.

According to these 16th- and 17th-century legends,

Flamel had a prophetic dream that led him to discover

a rare manuscript revealing the true composition of the

Philosopher's Stone (known as the Sorcerer's Stone in

the American editions of the Harry Potter novels). First

published in Germany in 1735, the Uraltes Chymisches

Werck (“Age-Old Chemical Work”), reputedly by the

rabbi Abraham Eleazar, claimed to be a translation of

this lost text. In the picture that follows, a serpent and

a crowned dragon form a circle, head-to-tail. This is a

common alchemical illustration, which symbolizes the

unification of materia (primary matter) with spiritus

universalis (the universal spirit). This unification was

considered essential in the creation of the Stone.

“Nicolas Flamel is a fascinating

character—an intersection in history

between myth, legend, and the magic of

Harry Potter. Almost ever ything we knew

about him was incor rect. The real Flamel

wasn't an alchemist, yet after his death

this fantastical stor y somehow rose up

around his name.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

THE WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATION PICTURED

SHOWS A MEMOIR OF NICOLAS FLAMEL AND

HIS WIFE (FRANCE, 18TH CENTURY)

British Library

TOMBSTONE OF NICOLAS FLAMEL

(PARIS, 15TH CENTURY)

Musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris

91

“Although scholars continue to debate

whether the work is genuine and

question whether Eleazar even

existed, the ‘Age-Old Chemical Work'

nevertheless attempts to show how

to make the Philosopher's Stone.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

“TO ONE AS YOUNG AS YOU,

I'M SURE IT SEEMS INCREDIBLE,

BUT TO NICOLAS AND PERENELLE,

IT REALLY IS LIKE GOING TO

BED AFTER A VERY,

VERY

LONG

DAY. AFTER ALL, TO THE WELL-

ORGANIZED MIND, DEATH IS BUT

THE NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE.”

—PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

92

R. ABRAHAMI ELEAZARIS,

URALTES

CHYMISCHES WERCK

(ERFURT, 1735)

British Library

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

93

ALL IS LOST

In this satirical engraving, the seated alchemist uses

tongs to grasp a crucible in one hand while with the

other he drops a coin (his last?) into another vessel.

Behind him, his wife searches for a coin in her empty

purse, while their three unruly children scramble in

an empty larder above and a fool fans the flames in

a brazier. At the right, a heavily robed scholar reads

instructions from a manual inscribed Alghe-Mist, a

pun in Flemish on the word “alchemist”, meaning “all

is lost.” Through the window is a vignette showing

the destitute alchemist, his wife, and their three

children entering the poorhouse. Philip Galle based

this engraving on a 1558 drawing by Pieter Bruegel. In

Bruegel's day, alchemy was a recurrent theme in Dutch

and Flemish genre painting. The print's Latin inscription

is probably an impossible riddle just like the quest for

the Philosopher's Stone.

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

94

PHILIP GALLE, AFTER PIETER BRUEGEL

THE ELDER,

THE ALCHEMIST

(ANTWERP, AFTER 1558)

Metropolitan Museum of Art

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

95

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

AEGIDIUS SADELER II,

HERCULES

AND CERBERUS

(1600–1627)

Metropolitan Museum of Art

96

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

GUARDING THE GATES

In Greek mythology, Cerberus is a monstrous three-

headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld

and prevents dead souls from escaping. Cerberus

is primarily known for his capture by Hercules.

Descending into Hades and capturing the mythical

canine is the final and most daunting of Hercules's

twelve Labors. In Sadeler's engraving, the strongman

Hercules wears his characteristic lion-skin, the prize he

garnered from his first Labor, the slaying of the Nemean

Lion. Holding a club in one hand and three chains

leashing the trio of snarling heads in the other, he drags

Cerberus away from the licking flames at the entrance

to Hades. After his harrowing of Hell, Hercules delivers

the horrific hound to Eurystheus, king of Argos and

supervisor of his twelve Labors, after which he returns

the monster to the Underworld.

97

SEEING FLUFFY

In this original drawing by J.K. Rowling, Neville, Ron,

Harry, Hermione, and “Gary” (later renamed Dean and

cut from this scene) are faced with a terrifying, huge

three-headed dog. Each student has a detail appropriate

to their character—note Neville's bunny pajamas,

Ron's freckles, and Hermione's large front teeth. This

early drawing shows us how the characters might have

appeared in the author's mind. Originally designed to

be part of Chapter Seven, “Draco's Duel,” this scene

eventually became Chapter Nine and was renamed

“The Midnight Duel.” Only Hermione has the composure

to spot that “Fluffy” is guarding a trapdoor, leading

Harry to realize that they have found the hiding place

of Hagrid's mysterious package from Gringotts

vault 713.

“SEE?” SAID HERMIONE, WHEN HARRY AND

RON HAD FINISHED. “THE DOG MUST BE

GUARDING FLAMEL'S SORCERER'S STONE!

I BET HE ASKED DUMBLEDORE TO KEEP IT

SAFE FOR HIM, BECAUSE THEY'RE FRIENDS

AND HE KNEW SOMEONE WAS AFTER IT.

THAT'S WHY HE WANTED THE STONE MOVED

OUT OF GRINGOTTS!”

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

PEN AND INK DRAWING OF HARRY AND

HIS FRIENDS BY J.K. ROWLING (1991)

J.K. Rowling

FLUFFY BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

100

THEY WERE LOOKING

STRAIGHT INTO THE EYES OF

A MONSTROUS DOG, A DOG

THAT FILLED THE WHOLE

SPACE BETWEEN CEILING AND

FLOOR. IT HAD THREE HEADS.

THREE PAIRS OF ROLLING,

MAD EYES; THREE NOSES,

TWITCHING AND QUIVERING

IN THEIR DIRECTION; THREE

DROOLING MOUTHS, SALIVA

HANGING IN SLIPPERY ROPES

FROM YELLOWISH FANGS.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

101

QUIRRELL AND

THE SORCERER'S STONE

This handwritten draft of “The Man with Two Faces”,

Chapter Seventeen of The Sorcerer's Stone, shows

J.K. Rowling's writing in ballpoint pen on unlined

paper. While you can see some small deletions in the

text, much of the dialogue in this early draft remains

the same as the published text. On discovering that

Professor Quirrell was behind the attempts to steal the

Sorcerer's Stone, not Snape as he had suspected, Harry

is given this defiant line: “You haven't got the stone yet

[...] Dumbledore will be here soon. He'll stop you.” This

and Quirrell's next line were cut during the editorial

process, in which the confrontation was reorganized. In

the published version, Quirrell discloses that he had let

the troll into the school immediately after he had bound

Harry in ropes.

“J.K. Rowling has expressed how much

she loves writing dialogue, and this

draft shows how small changes in

dialogue can have a powerful effect

on characterization.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

POTIONS AND ALCHEMY

A DRAFT OF

HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S

STONE

, CHAPTER SEVENTEEN,

HANDWRITTEN BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

!

105

106

DRAWING OF A HOGWARTS GREENHOUSE BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

HARRY, RON, AND HERMIONE LEFT THE

CASTLE TOGETHER, CROSSED THE VEGETABLE

PATCH, AND MADE FOR THE GREENHOUSES,

WHERE THE MAGICAL PLANTS WERE KEPT.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

HERBOLOGY

107

HERBOLOGY AT HOGWARTS

Herbology classes at Hogwarts took place in the

greenhouses on the castle grounds. This is a

meticulous drawing by Jim Kay of one of the Herbology

greenhouses, showing the structural sections and

glass panels. The artist once worked at Kew Gardens

in London, where the Palm House, the Temperate

House, and the Alpine House proved good sources

of inspiration for these drawings. They are excellent

examples of specialized greenhouses designed to

provide varying environments for plants.

“The greenhouses in Kay's vision are

clearly designed around the plants'

needs—some hang, some will creep up

walls, some will grow in water, others

spread out in the shade.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

HERBOLOGY

108

PEN AND INK DRAWING OF PROFESSOR POMONA

SPROUT BY J.K. ROWLING (DECEMBER 30, 1990)

J.K. Rowling

A SQUAT LITTLE WITCH

J.K. Rowling's early drawing of Professor Sprout, made

eight years before the publication of Harry Potter and

the Sorcerer's Stone, shows the character surrounded by

the plants studied in her Herbology class. At Hogwarts,

Herbology included the study of normal plants as well

as magical ones. Are the tendrils spreading from one of

the pots actually sneaky Venomous Tentacula, looking

for something to chew on? Professor Sprout herself is

pictured in her witch's hat, with a spider hanging from

its tip, handy for keeping her greenhouses free from

plant-eating insects.

HERBOLOGY

109

CULPEPER'S HERBAL

When seeking inspiration for naming her herbs and

potions, J.K. Rowling used the herbal of the apothecary

Nicholas Culpeper. The book was first published in 1652

as The English Physician. It has subsequently appeared

in over a hundred editions, and was the first medical

book to be published in North America. Culpeper's

herbal provides a comprehensive list of native

medicinal herbs, indexed against specific illnesses,

and prescribes the most effective forms of treatment

and when to take them. Culpeper was an unlicensed

apothecary, disliked by the medical profession, who

jealously guarded their monopoly to practice medicine

in London. He came into conflict with the College

of Physicians, and in 1642 was apparently tried, but

acquitted, for practicing witchcraft.

THREE TIMES A WEEK THEY WENT OUT TO

THE GREENHOUSES BEHIND THE CASTLE TO

STUDY HERBOLOGY, WITH A DUMPY LITTLE

WITCH CALLED PROFESSOR SPROUT, WHERE

THEY LEARNED HOW TO TAKE CARE OF ALL

THE STRANGE PLANTS AND FUNGI, AND

FOUND OUT WHAT THEY WERE USED FOR.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

HERBOLOGY

110

HERBOLOGY

“Culpeper was concerned with informing

the less educated members of society,

and so he wrote in English rather than

the traditional Latin.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

CULPEPER'S ENGLISH PHYSICIAN;

AND COMPLETE HERBAL

(LONDON, 1789)

British Library

GARDENING IMPLEMENTS

MADE FROM ANTLER AND BONE

The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle

112

MAGICAL GARDENING IMPLEMENTS

Herbology is a mandatory subject taken by all students

at Hogwarts, reflecting the importance of plants to

magic, medicine, and herbal lore. These gardening

implements, made from bone and antler, were used

by practitioners of magic specifically for sowing and

harvesting plants. It was essential that these tools were

formed entirely from natural resources so they did not

corrupt the plants being harvested. The materials also

had symbolic importance. Tools shaped from antlers,

which rise upward above the head, were considered

to connect the Earth with the higher spirit world. As

antlers are shed and regrown annually, they symbolize

the magic of regeneration and renewal.

“Tools like these have been used for

thousands of years. Many plants are

harvested not only for their medicinal

qualities, but for their alleged

supernatural powers—in such cases,

the rituals involved in gathering them

are extremely important.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

HERBOLOGY

113

“OH, HELLO THERE!” HE

CALLED, BEAMING AROUND

AT THE ASSEMBLED

STUDENTS. “JUST BEEN

SHOWING PROFESSOR

SPROUT THE RIGHT WAY

TO DOCTOR A WHOMPING

WILLOW! BUT I DON'T WANT

YOU RUNNING AWAY WITH

THE IDEA THAT I'M BETTER

AT HERBOLOGY THAN SHE IS!

I JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE MET

SEVERAL OF THESE EXOTIC

PLANTS ON MY TRAVELS . . .”

—PROFESSOR LOCKHART, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

HERBOLOGY

114

REMEDY FOR SNAKEBITE

What was one of the most effective remedies for

snakebite? This 12th-century manuscript advises the

afflicted to seek out two plants known as Centauria

major and Centauria minor. The “greater” and “lesser”

centaury were named after the ancient Greek centaur

Chiron. In Greek mythology, Chiron was renowned as

a physician, astrologer, and oracle. Among his pupils

was Asclepius, the god of medicine and healing, who

had been rescued as a baby and was taken to Chiron

to be reared. In this pen and ink drawing, Chiron is

shown handing over the two plants to the toga-wearing

Asclepius. A snake can be seen slithering away from

under their feet.

CENTAURY IN AN HERBAL

(ENGLAND, 12TH CENTURY)

British Library

HERBOLOGY

FOREWORD

115

FOREWORD

116

117

HERBOLOGY

DRAGON AND SERPENT

During the Middle Ages, many scholars compiled

manuscripts for their own practical use, recording

and illustrating the properties of individual plants.

This magnificently decorated herbal was made in

Lombardy, northern Italy, around the year 1440. It was

most probably compiled for a wealthy landowner. Each

page has been filled with lifelike drawings of plants and

short notes explaining their names. On the second page

we can see snakeroot. The author has recorded some

of the species' Latin names beside it—“Dragontea,”

“serpentaria,” and “viperina” reveal the plant's ability to

cure snakebite. A hissing green serpent can also be seen

curling around the plant's root. A snarling dragon called

in Latin “Draco magnus” is perched to its left, painted

with a forked tongue and an elaborately knotted tail.

“The term ‘snakeroot' is applied today

to various plants with medicinal qualities,

such as plantain. A poultice of plantain

applied to a wound is widely believed

to accelerate the healing process.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

SNAKEROOT IN AN HERBAL (ITALY,

15TH CENTURY)

British Library

118

HERBOLOGY

119

HERBOLOGY

120

A CURIOUS HERBAL

A Curious Herbal is a book with a remarkable history.

This work was illustrated, engraved, and hand-colored

by Elizabeth Blackwell in order to raise funds to have

her husband, Alexander, released from a debtors'

prison. The book was issued in weekly parts between

1737 and 1739, and contained images of 500 of “the

most useful plants, which are now used in the practice

of physick.” Elizabeth made her drawings at Chelsea

Physic Garden in London and then took her drawings

to Alexander in prison, where he identified the plants in

question. Although the venture raised enough income

to secure Alexander's release, he eventually left for

Sweden, where he was executed for treason, having

become involved in a political conspiracy. Elizabeth

died alone in England in 1758.

AND SO THE THREE WITCHES AND THE

FORLORN KNIGHT VENTURED FORTH INTO

THE ENCHANTED GARDEN, WHERE RARE

HERBS, FRUIT, AND FLOWERS GREW IN

ABUNDANCE ON EITHER SIDE OF

THE SUNLIT PATHS.

—THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD

HERBOLOGY

121

DRACONTIUM, IN ELIZABETH BLACKWELL,

A CURIOUS HERBAL, CONTAINING FIVE

HUNDRED CUTS OF THE MOST USEFUL PLANTS

WHICH ARE NOW USED IN THE PRACTICE OF

PHYSICK

, 2 VOLS (LONDON, 1737–9)

British Library

HERBOLOGY

122

GERARD'S HERBAL

John Gerard was an English herbalist, whose most

famous work was entitled The Herball or Generall

Historie of Plantes. Gerard maintained his own garden

in Holborn, London. He cultivated all manner of plants

there, including exotic specimens such as the recently

discovered potato. The Herball contains more than

1,800 woodcut illustrations. Only sixteen of these

were actually original to Gerard's work, the remainder

having been taken (without acknowledgment) from

a book printed in Germany six years previously. The

final woodcut in the book illustrates “the tree bearing

geese”—a tree that supposedly grew goose embryos

inside its fruit. Gerard claimed to have seen one

of these in Lancashire, England.

HERBOLOGY

123

“THE TREE BEARING GEESE,” IN

THE

HERBALL OR GENERALL HISTORIE

OF PLANTES. GATHERED BY JOHN

GERARDE OF LONDON, MASTER IN

CHIRURGERIE

(LONDON, 1597)

British Library

HERBOLOGY

124

HERBOLOGY

DRIED GARDENS

For hundreds of years, apothecaries, professors, and

ardent students of botany have diligently pressed

and preserved plants in so-called “dried gardens” or

horti sicci. This practice allowed for the plants to be

studied and researched regardless of the change of

seasons or garden accessibility. Around the turn of the

18th century—with new plant classification systems

shaking scientific circles—loose-leaf pages became the

preferred method of preserving plants and recording

their data, and allowed for rearrangement and easy

comparison. The pressed plant on the next page seems

to be Adonis vernalis, or fake hellebore. Though the

plant contains toxic substances, the aboveground parts

of the plant have been used in folk medicinal remedies

for fever and intestinal worms. In the magical world of

Harry Potter, hellebore is a primary ingredient in the

Draught of Peace.

HIS HEART SANK. HE HAD NOT ADDED SYRUP

OF HELLEBORE, BUT HAD PROCEEDED

STRAIGHT TO THE FOURTH LINE OF THE

INSTRUCTIONS AFTER ALLOWING HIS POTION

TO SIMMER FOR SEVEN MINUTES.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

125

HERBOLOGY

ADONIS HELLEBORE, IN

CATALOGUS

PLANTARUM FLORE

(POSSIBLY

PORTUGAL, 18TH CENTURY)

The LuEsther

T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical

Garden

126

HERBOLOGY

BASILIUS BESLER,

HORTUS

EYSTETTENSIS

(NUREMBERG, 1713)

The LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York

Botanical Garden

127

HERBOLOGY

THE GARDEN OF EICHSTÄTT

Commissioned in 1611 by Johann Konrad von

Gemmingen, Prince Bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria,

the Hortus Eystettensis is a magnificent catalog of the

plants grown in the bishop's palace garden. The book

was produced by Basilius Besler, a botanist from

Nuremberg, who supervised both the garden and the

artists who drew the plants. This book was a major

undertaking, with the flowers having to be illustrated

as they bloomed throughout the seasons. It contains

367 engravings and was printed on the largest paper

then available. Harry Potter may have forgotten the

hellebore in his Draught of Peace, but it was well known

to Besler, who cultivated several varieties of the plant in

the garden. One, Helleborus niger (black hellebore), had

been used as a medicine since antiquity, although today

it is considered a poison.

128

DEVIL'S TONGUE, IN

DU CAO

(CHINA, 19TH CENTURY)

British Library

DEVIL'S TONGUE

This beautifully illustrated Chinese manuscript deals

with the topic of poisonous and medicinal plants. The

picture shows a lily with an elegant, single bloom called

devil's tongue, also known as “konjac,” “voodoo lily,”

or “snake palm.” Today, devil's tongue is used in

HERBOLOGY

129

“Herbal medicine has a long history

in China. According to tradition, it

originated with the mythical emperor,

Shen Nong (the ‘Divine Farmer'), who

is believed to have been the inventor of

agriculture and medicine, as well as the

author of the first book on the subject, the

Bencaojing.”

EMMA GOODLIFFE

Curator

making weight-loss supplements and facial massage

products. The exotic-looking flower is a member of

the same genus as titan arum, the worst-smelling

plant on Earth.

HERBOLOGY

130

THE TEMPLE OF FLORA

Described as a “visually magnificent failure,” this

elaborate book on botany nearly bankrupted its author,

the physician and botanist, Robert John Thornton.

Using a range of modern printing techniques, Thornton

employed teams of master engravers and colorists to

reproduce highly dramatized paintings of flora from

across the world. Thornton's timing was unfortunate,

however: War with France brought higher taxes and

meant that the target audience (the wealthy) had

less disposable income for such an expensive book.

Despite being granted a license from Parliament to hold

a fund-raising lottery, Thornton never recovered his

investment.

“CAREFUL, WEASLEY, CAREFUL!” CRIED

PROFESSOR SPROUT AS THE BEANS BURST

INTO BLOOM BEFORE THEIR VERY EYES.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

“This exquisite black flower is called ‘dragon

arum' (Dracunculus vulgaris), also known

by the somewhat less appealing name ‘stink

lily.' It produces the smell of putrefying meat

to attract flies for pollination.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

HERBOLOGY

131

DRACONTIUM, IN ROBERT JOHN THORNTON,

THE TEMPLE OF FLORA

(LONDON, 1807)

The LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the

New York Botanical Garden

HERBOLOGY

132

HERBOLOGY

133

A MANDRAKE ROOT

Harry and his friends first came face-to-face with a

mandrake in Greenhouse Three, which contained the

most “interesting and dangerous plants” at Hogwarts.

As Hermione Granger immediately knew, “Mandrake,

or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative [...] used to

return people who have been transfigured or cursed,

to their original state [...] The cry of the Mandrake is

fatal to anyone who hears it.” While the mandrakes

encountered by Harry, Hermione, and Ron are still

young, this specimen has the appearance of a bearded

old man. The resemblance of mandrakes to the human

form has influenced many cultures over the centuries.

In reality, the mandrake's root and leaves are poisonous,

and it can induce hallucinations.

“AS OUR MANDRAKES ARE ONLY SEEDLINGS,

THEIR CRIES WON'T KILL YET,” SHE SAID

CALMLY, AS THOUGH SHE'D JUST DONE

NOTHING MORE EXCITING THAN WATER

A BEGONIA.

—PROFESSOR SPROUT, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

HERBOLOGY

134

HARVESTING A MANDRAKE

According to medieval herbals, mandrakes were said

to cure headaches, earache, gout, and insanity, among

other ailments. Harvesting them, however, has long

been deemed an extremely hazardous business. The

best way to obtain the plant safely was to unearth its

roots with an ivory stake, attaching one end of a cord

to the mandrake and the other to a dog. The dog could

be encouraged to move forward by blowing a horn,

dragging the mandrake with it. The sound of the horn

would also serve to drown out the plant's terrible

shriek.

“A macabre feature of the mandrake in

the foreground of this image is the two

severed hands growing out of its stems.

These symbolize the plant's use as an

anesthetic during amputations.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

HERBOLOGY

135

GIOVANNI CADAMOSTO'S ILLUSTRATED HERBAL

(ITALY OR GERMANY, 15TH CENTURY)

British Library

HERBOLOGY

136

THE MALE AND FEMALE

MANDRAKE

This illuminated manuscript contains an Arabic version

of Books Three and Four of De materia medica (“On

medical material”), originally written in Greek by

Pedanius Dioscorides. Dioscorides was a botanist and

pharmacologist, working as a physician in the Roman

army. The manuscript contains no fewer than 287 color

illustrations of plants, together with spaces left blank

for a further 52 drawings. Dioscorides was one of the

first authors to distinguish between the male and female

mandrake, as shown here. One should almost refer to

them as the “mandrake” and “womandrake.” However,

this identification is miselading; Dioscorides had

actually identified two different species of mandrake

native to the Mediterranean.

THE MALE AND FEMALE MANDRAKE, IN

KITÂB

MAWÂDD AL-‘ILÂJ

(BAGHDAD, 14TH CENTURY)

British Library

HERBOLOGY

137

HERBOLOGY

138

STUDY OF MANDRAKES

BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

“This illustration appears to be drawn from life—Jim

Kay was previously a curator at the Royal Botanic

Gardens, Kew—and it references the natural studies of

plants that are typically found in any botanical librar y.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

INSTEAD OF ROOTS, A SMALL, MUDDY, AND

EXTREMELY UGLY BABY POPPED OUT OF THE

EARTH. THE LEAVES WERE GROWING RIGHT

OUT OF HIS HEAD. HE HAD PALE GREEN,

MOTTLED SKIN, AND WAS CLEARLY BAWLING

AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

HERBOLOGY

GNOMES, IN KARL GOTZE,

ALBUM FÜR

TEPPICHGÄRTNEREI UND GRUPPENBEPFLANZUNG

(ERFURT, 1897)

The LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden

141

GNOMES GALORE

While de-gnoming may have been a chore for the

Weasleys, gnoming—or beautifying gardens with

gnome sculptures—has been a popular hobby for

families since the 1870s when August Heissner and

Philipp Griebel began mass-producing garden gnomes

in their workshops in Gräfenroda, Germany. This

1897 catalog of the Ludwig Möller Garden Company

illustrates a selection of gnomes designed for garden

beds and shrubberies near outdoor seating areas.

Unlike the gnomes resembling “fat little Father

Christmases” that Ron notes are all the rage among

Muggles, the Thuringian retailers emphasize that

“care has been taken to avoid unattractive or even

ugly facial expressions so that these figures could not

fail to achieve one of their most important purposes:

delighting children.”

HERBOLOGY

142

IT WAS SMALL AND LEATHERY LOOKING, WITH

A LARGE, KNOBBY, BALD HEAD EXACTLY LIKE

A POTATO. RON HELD IT AT ARM'S LENGTH

AS IT KICKED OUT AT HIM WITH ITS HORNY

LITTLE FEET . . .

—HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

STUDY OF GNOMES BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

HERBOLOGY

145

DRAWING OF THE OPENING

TO DIAGON ALLEY

BY J.K. ROWLING (1990)

J.K. Rowling

CHARMS

INTO THE ALLEY

This drawing reveals, in six stages, how the entrance

arch to Diagon Alley appears when tapped three times

by Hagrid's umbrella at the beginning of The Sorcerer's

Stone. This fully worked-out visualization shows how

J.K. Rowling rooted the magic in the book as closely

as possible to real-world logic. The concept of bricks

reorganizing themselves into an archway is far more

plausible than an opening simply appearing out of

146

the blue. These imaginative touches, and the serious

considerations that have gone in to explaining magical

processes, underline what makes J.K. Rowling's world

so vivid and real to so many readers.

THE BRICK HE HAD TOUCHED

QUIVERED—IT WRIGGLED—IN

THE MIDDLE, A SMALL HOLE

APPEARED—IT GREW WIDER AND

WIDER— A SECOND LATER THEY

WERE FACING AN ARCHWAY LARGE

ENOUGH EVEN FOR HAGRID,

AN ARCHWAY ONTO A COBBLED

STREET THAT TWISTED AND

TURNED OUT OF SIGHT.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

CHARMS

DIAGON ALLEY BY MARY GRANDPRÉ

Scholastic

DRAWING OF DIAGON ALLEY BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

A TRIP TO THE SHOPS

Jim Kay created fantastically meticulous drawings

showing the panorama of the shops along Diagon Alley.

The atmosphere of this renowned street is captured in the

uneven cobbles and the fountainhead beneath the street

sign. The shop in the foreground of the drawing has hung a

vast array of wares all over the building. Why limit yourself

to a window display when magic can adorn the whole shop

front? Kay chose clever, fun, and personal names for the

shops. “Twinkles Telescopes,” for example, was inspired

by a theatrical store from his childhood called Sally

Twinkles. The nut store, “Tut's Nuts,” was named after the

seeds taken from Tutankhamun's tomb and stored in Kew

Gardens, where the artist once worked.

149

“FINALLY, I WROTE A LIST OF THE WAYS

IN WHICH PEOPLE CAN BE CHOSEN: EENY

MEENY MINY MO, SHORT STRAWS, CHOSEN

BY TEAM CAPTAINS, NAMES OUT OF A HAT—

NAMES OUT OF A TALKING HAT—PUTTING

ON A HAT—THE SORTING HAT.”

—J.K. ROWLING ON POTTERMORE

DECIDING ON A SORTING HAT

J.K. Rowling spent five years planning out Harry Potter's

world and his story. She decided that Hogwarts would

have four school houses—Gryffindor, Ravenclaw,

Hufflepuff, and Slytherin—with distinct qualities

attributed to each. After that, she had to work out how

the students would be sorted into the houses. These

notes show the author listing some possible ways. The

note “statues” represents her idea that four statues

of the founders in the Entrance Hall might come alive

and select students from the group in front of them (an

idea Rowling later modified for the Sorting Ceremony

at the North American school of magic, Ilvermorny,

as she wrote on Pottermore). Other ideas included a

ghost court, a riddle, or prefects choosing students.

The Sorting Hat is also shown here, complete with rips,

patches, and a grinning mouth.

CHARMS

NOTES ON SORTING THE STUDENTS

BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

THE SORTING HAT BY MARY GRANDPRÉ

Scholastic

152

CHARMS

THE SORTING HAT SONG

At the start of every academic year at Hogwarts, new

students are sorted in to their houses by the Sorting

Hat. This is J.K. Rowling's original, handwritten draft of

the song that the hat sings at Harry's Sorting Ceremony

in his first year. The draft contains some crossings-out

and additional edits, but most of these lines survived in

the final published text of The Sorcerer's Stone.

THE

SORTING

HAT SONG

BY J.K.

ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

SKETCH OF ARGUS FILCH

BY J.K. ROWLING (1990)

J.K. Rowling

154

ARGUS FILCH

Argus Filch, the caretaker at Hogwarts, often came

close to discovering Harry Potter on his nighttime

adventures around the school. Harry only escaped

detection thanks to his Invisibility Cloak, which once

belonged to his father, James Potter. The lamp held

by Filch while he was patrolling the school corridors,

shown here in a sketch by J.K. Rowling, enabled him

to spot any students wandering the castle when they

should have been tucked up in bed. This drawing shows

Filch with several worry lines on his forehead, perhaps

caused by years of chasing after misbehaving pupils.

“Argus” or “Argos” is a name from Greek mythology for

a many-eyed or one-hundred-eyed giant whose epithet,

“Panoptes,” means “all-seeing.”

CHARMS

155

MAKE ME TO BE INVYSIBLE

For those who won't inherit an Invisibility Cloak, other

methods of disappearing must be found instead.

The Key of Knowledge was an instructional text on

magic that was spuriously attributed to King Solomon.

Here it cites a charm to achieve invisibility. The method

proposed varies from manuscript to manuscript,

because the book was widely shared, copied, and

recopied by students of magic. This manuscript once

belonged to the English poet Gabriel Harvey. Care

should be taken when reciting this spell, however—The

Key of Knowledge does not include a charm to make

yourself reappear again!

CHARMS

156

“HOW EXPERIMENTS TO BE INVISIBLE

MUST BE PREPARED,” IN

THE BOOK OF

KING SOLOMON CALLED THE KEY OF

KNOWLEDGE

(ENGLAND, 17TH CENTURY)

British Library

CHARMS

157

OLGA HUNT'S BROOMSTICK

Few charmed objects are more closely associated with

the Western image of the witch than the broomstick.

Although the tradition has ancient roots in pagan

fertility rights, the connection between witchcraft and

broomsticks developed significantly in the art and

popular superstitions that fed the witch hysteria of

16th- and 17th-century Europe. This colorful broomstick

was once owned by a Devonshire woman named Olga

Hunt. When there was a full moon, Olga could be

spotted with her broomstick leaping around Haytor

Rocks on Dartmoor, much to the alarm of courting

couples and campers!

AS EVERY SCHOOL-AGE WIZARD KNOWS,

THE FACT THAT WE FLY ON BROOMSTICKS

IS PROBABLY OUR WORST-KEPT SECRET.

NO MUGGLE ILLUSTRATION OF A WITCH

IS COMPLETE WITHOUT A BROOM [...]

BROOMSTICKS AND MAGIC ARE INEXTRICABLY

LINKED IN THE MUGGLE MIND.

—QUIDDITCH THROUGH THE AGES

BROOMSTICK BELONGING TO OLGA HUNT

(ENGLAND, 20TH CENTURY)

The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle

CHARMS

159

A CLOUD OF KEYS

These two draft sketches show how Jim Kay created

some of his illustrations, using a detailed pencil

sketch that was then digitally colored in or overlaid

with a watercolor painting. Here you can see him

experimenting with the design and colors of the

winged keys, capturing the “whirl of rainbow feathers”

described in The Sorcerer's Stone. The keys have been

charmed by Professor Filius Flitwick as one of the

protections put in place by the Hogwarts teachers to

guard the Sorcerer's Stone. Harry used his broomstick-

flying skills to capture the one that would open a

magically protected locked door.

STUDIES OF WINGED KEYS BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

CHARMS

160

THEY EACH SEIZED A BROOMSTICK AND

KICKED OFF INTO THE AIR, SOARING

INTO THE MIDST OF THE CLOUD OF KEYS.

THEY GRABBED AND SNATCHED, BUT THE

BEWITCHED KEYS DARTED AND DIVED

SO QUICKLY IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE

TO CATCH ONE.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

STUDIES OF WINGED KEYS BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

CHARMS

161

HARRY AND DRACO

The world of magic was new and complicated for Harry

when he arrived at Hogwarts, but in his very first flying

lesson, having never previously touched a broom, he

flew so naturally that Professor McGonagall instantly

whisked him away to meet the Gryffindor Quidditch

team captain. Harry became the youngest Seeker in

a century to play in a Hogwarts Quidditch game. In

this painting by Jim Kay, Harry is shown with his cape

billowing and his hands firmly clasped around his

broomstick, while a rain-blurred Draco Malfoy heads

toward him in the background.

WITH A ROAR FROM THE CROWD TO SPEED

THEM UPWARD, THE FOURTEEN PLAYERS

ROSE TOWARD THE LEADEN SKY. HARRY

FLEW HIGHER THAN ANY OF THEM,

SQUINTING AROUND FOR THE SNITCH.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

CHARMS

162

HARRY POTTER AND DRACO MALFOY

PLAYING QUIDDITCH BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

“Kay's painting brings to life the opening

Quidditch match against the Slytherin

team in Harry's second year. In the

match, a Bludger went rogue and

followed Harryrelentlessly, eventually

breaking his arm. Despite this, Harr y

caught the Snitch and won the game.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

CHARMS

163

CHARMS

A WITCH AND HER FAMILIAR

In 1621, Anne Fairfax, the younger daughter of Edward

Fairfax of Fewston, Yorkshire, died suddenly. Two

of her sisters, together with a friend, accused some

local women of practicing witchcraft. The women

were taken to trial, but the case collapsed when the

friend confessed that the whole thing had been a hoax.

Edward Fairfax, however, remained resolute in his

belief that Anne's death was caused by witches. This

manuscript sets out his case for the prosecution. A

later illustrator has added drawings of the “witches”

and their familiars—demons or spirits, often in the

form of an animal, that accompany and obey witches.

One witch, “Margaret Wait the elder” is described

as a widow whose “husband died by the hand of the

executioner. Her familiar is a deformed thing with many

feet, rough with hair, the bigness of a cat, and the name

of it is unknown.”

A DISCOURSE OF WITCHCRAFT AS IT WAS ACTED

IN THE FAMILY OF MR. EDWARD FAIRFAX OF FUYSTONE

(ENGLAND, 18TH CENTURY)

British Library

164

CHARMS

165

THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES

As the anonymous author of this book noted, the

English county of Lancashire is “famous for witches and

the very strange pranks they have played.” Lancashire's

popular association with witchery stems from the

famous Pendle trials of 1612, when some nineteen

people were accused of practicing witchcraft. While the

story of the Pendle witch craze is an unhappy one—

the majority of the accused were hanged—the author

of this text was eager to portray Lancashire witches

in a more positive light. The book is illustrated with

simple woodcuts, including this picture of a jolly witch

mounting a broomstick.

“The text accompanying this illustration

states, ‘Lancashire witches chiefly divert

themselves in merriment and sport.'

Perhaps it is little wonder, then, that

Quidditch Through the Ages cites

the first known account of a Quidditch

match in 1385, as ‘a game

in Lancashire.'”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

THE HISTORY OF THE LANCASHIRE WITCHES

(COVENTRY, 1825)

British Library

CHARMS

166

CHARMS

167

CHARMS

COTTON MATHER,

THE WONDERS OF THE

INVISIBLE WORLD

(LONDON, 1693)

New-York Historical Society

168

CHARMS

WITCHCRAFT ON TRIAL

Like the Pendle witch trials in Lancashire, England,

in 1612, the Salem witch crisis eighty years later

depended largely on local feuds, religious strife, and

long-held cultural beliefs about women and gender. In

Puritan New England, many leaders used accusations

of witchcraft as a way to control “disruptive” female

behavior. Cotton Mather, a Congregational minister in

Boston and staunch defender of Puritan orthodoxy,

wrote The Wonders of the Invisible World: Being an

Account of the Tr yals of Several Witches, Lately Executed

in New-England in 1693 as his justification for the Salem

witchcraft crisis and executions. While Mather attacked

witches as the embodiment of evil and defended the

court's verdicts, he also voiced his great discomfort

with the court's admission of spectral evidence

(testimony from dreams, ghosts, and visions). Mather

called on the court to admit only testimony from

human witnesses, rather than spectral testimony, in the

persecution of witches. Only humans, he argued, should

“turn the scale” of justice in court.

169

A RING CAPTIONED “MAY SOMETHING NEVER

HAPPEN AS LONG AS THIS REMAINS BURIED,”

IN A GREEK HANDBOOK FOR MAGIC (THEBES,

4TH CENTURY)

British Library

CHARMS

A MAGICAL RING

This 4th-century papyrus is part of an ancient Greek

handbook for magic. As well as containing charms

to discover thieves and to reveal the secret thoughts

of men, the handbook describes how to prepare a

magical ring. The owner was advised to inscribe the

ring with a charm, according to the following formula:

“May something never happen as long as this remains

buried.” It was intended that the ring be hidden in the

ground, in order to prevent something from happening.

By inscribing and burying the ring, the owner could

specify, for example, that they did not want a rival to

be lucky in love. With the exception of one added word,

the inscription reads the same in either direction. This

is a well-known characteristic of magical charms.

170

ABRACADABRA

The “Abracadabra” spell has been used by generations

of magicians to conjure rabbits out of hats. In ancient

times, however, the same word was held to be a charm

with healing powers. Its first documented use appears

in the Liber Medicinalis or “Book of Medicine” written

by Quintus Serenus Sammonicus in the 2nd century

C.E. Serenus was a physician to the Emperor Caracalla,

prescribing the charm “Abracadabra” as a cure for

malaria. Sufferers were instructed to write out the word

again and again, leaving out one letter each time. This

would produce a “cone-shaped” text. The charm was

then worn as an amulet around the neck in order to

drive out the fever.

“The Abracadabra text is outlined in red

ink in the margin of this manuscript.

Serenus further recommended that flax,

the fat of the lion, or coral stones could

be used to fix the charm around one's

neck.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

CHARMS

171

LIBER MEDICINALIS

(CANTERBURY,

13TH CENTURY)

British Library

CHARMS

172

HOW TO TURN YOURSELF

INTO A LION

In Ethiopia, magical practitioners commonly make

collections of charms, spells, and the names of plants

and their properties, which are then copied into

handbooks like this one. This page has been removed

from a magical recipe book. It contains charms for

reversing spells and for binding demons. One charm in

particular supplies the formula for changing yourself

into a lion or another beast: “With red ink, write these

secret names on a piece of white silk. To transform

yourself into a lion, tie the silk to your head; to become

a python, tie it on your arm; to turn into an eagle, tie it

on your shoulder.”

“TRANSFIGURATION IS SOME OF THE MOST

COMPLEX AND DANGEROUS MAGIC YOU WILL

LEARN AT HOGWARTS,” SHE SAID. “ANYONE

MESSING AROUND IN MY CLASS WILL LEAVE

AND NOT COME BACK. YOU HAVE BEEN

WARNED.”

—PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

CHARMS

173

A CHARM TO TURN SOMEONE INTO

A LION, A PYTHON, OR AN EAGLE

(ETHIOPIA, 18TH CENTURY)

British Library

CHARMS

174

A LOVE CHARM

Love potions and charms are still widely used across

the world. Sometimes this type of magic even appeared

at Hogwarts—from Professor Slughorn brewing

Amortentia in class to Ron Weasley accidentally

ingesting Romilda Vane's love potion. Made in the

Netherlands, the love charm shown here is rich in

symbolism that imbued the object with magical power.

Painted onto an oyster shell to ensure fertility, the

charm was produced for a couple whose first initials

were J and R. Red thread binds the letters together

while a pair of touching hearts represent their love.

Above these letters are the couple's star signs—" for

Taurus and ! for Gemini.

“The effectiveness of this love charm

remains unknown. As Slughorn declared

in his Potions class, ‘It is impossible to

manufacture or imitate love.'”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

CHARMS

175

“PROFESSOR, I'M REALLY SORRY TO DISTURB

YOU,” SAID HARRY AS QUIETLY AS POSSIBLE,

WHILE RON STOOD ON TIPTOE, ATTEMPTING

TO SEE PAST SLUGHORN INTO HIS ROOM,

“BUT MY FRIEND RON'S SWALLOWED A LOVE

POTION BY MISTAKE. YOU COULDN'T MAKE

HIM AN ANTIDOTE, COULD YOU?”

—HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

LOVE CHARM (NETHERLANDS, 20TH CENTURY)

The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle

CHARMS

177

178

ASTRONOMY

LISTS OF HOGWARTS SUBJECTS

AND TEACHERS

In this handwritten note, which was made as she was

writing The Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling has listed the

subjects taught at Hogwarts alongside the prospective

names of their teachers. Here you get a glimpse of some

of the revisions and choices J.K. Rowling made as she

developed Harry Potter's wizarding world. An early

moniker for the Professor of Astronomy is recorded

here as “Aurelia Sinistra.” This later developed into

“Aurora Sinistra.” J.K. Rowling often uses Latin words

for her names and spells. “Aurora,” which means “the

dawn,” can also refer to the natural phenomenon that

occurs near the magnetic poles, creating breathtaking

light displays in the sky. As well as meaning “left-

hand side,” “Sinistra” is also the name of a star in

the constellation of Ophiuchus, better known as the

Serpent Bearer.

“The lists of Defense Against the Dark

Arts teachers include unused characters

with unfamiliar names like Enid

Pettigrew, Oakden Hernshaw, and Mylor

Silvanus, none of whom appear in the

published books.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

179

ASTRONOMY

LISTS OF HOGWARTS SUBJECTS AND

TEACHERS BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

180

ASTRONOMY

LISTS OF HOGWARTS SUBJECTS AND

TEACHERS BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

FOREWORD

181

THE OLDEST ATLAS OF THE NIGHT SKY

In 1907, a Hungarian-British archaeologist named Aurel

Stein was searching for artifacts in the desert on the

southern Silk Road. He entered a cave in Dunhuang,

Central China, that had been sealed for thousands of

years and stumbled upon an amazing discovery—the

cave was a treasure trove containing 40,000 ancient

Buddhist manuscripts, paintings, and documents. This

paper scroll was among them, the oldest preserved star

atlas from any civilization. At the time that the atlas was

“LIE BACK UPON THE FLOOR,” SAID FIRENZE

IN HIS CALM VOICE, “AND OBSERVE THE

HEAVENS. HERE IS WRITTEN, FOR THOSE

WHO CAN SEE, THE FORTUNE OF

OUR RACES.”

—HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

FOREWORD

182

“This star atlas is a remarkable survival.

It is astonishing to think that it was

created centuries before the invention

of the telescope. The scroll dates back

to approximately 700 C.E., and its detail

and accuracy are extraordinary.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

THE DUNHUANG STAR ATLAS

(CHINA, CA. 700 C.E.)

British Library

made, it was believed that the movement of the stars

reflected the actions of the emperor and his court on

Earth. A solar eclipse, for example, might be interpreted

as a sign of a forthcoming coup. The scroll shows more

than 1,300 stars visible to the naked eye in the Northern

Hemisphere. It is staggering to think that a chart of

such accuracy was created by observation alone—the

Dunhuang Star Atlas is the oldest map of the night sky,

yet it stands up well compared to modern charts today.

183

AN ASTRONOMICAL MISCELLANY

(PETERBOROUGH, 12TH CENTURY)

British Library

ASTRONOMY

SIRIUS BLACK

The wonders of the night sky have inspired many of the

character names in the Harry Potter series. Hogwarts

alumni include Andromeda Tonks, Bellatrix Lestrange,

and of course their cousin, Sirius Black. This medieval

manuscript shows the constellation of Canis Major.

The most famous star in that constellation and also the

brightest light that can be seen from Earth is Sirius, the

Dog Star. The shape of the dog in this manuscript is

infilled with a pattern poem in Latin, derived from the

writings of the Roman author Hyginus.

184

ASTRONOMY

FOR ONE BRIEF MOMENT,

THE GREAT BLACK DOG REARED

ON TO ITS HIND LEGS AND

PLACED ITS FRONT PAWS ON

HARRY'S SHOULDERS, BUT MRS.

WEASLEY SHOVED HARRY AWAY

TOWARD THE TRAIN DOOR,

HISSING, “FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE,

ACT MORE LIKE A DOG, SIRIUS!”

—HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

185

ASTRONOMY

EYES TO THE SKIES

Astronomers of the past used a range of equipment

to help them plot the movement of the stars. This

exquisite instrument made by Muhammad b. Abi Bakr

almost eight hundred years ago is called an astrolabe.

It could be used to create a two-dimensional map of the

heavens, similar to the star charts that Harry and his

classmates were expected to plot in their Astronomy

exams. An astrolabe was also able to determine latitude

and was employed in the Islamic world to find the

direction of Mecca. The back of this astrolabe has a

calendar with three apertures including one showing

the lunar phase and one the positions of the Sun and

Moon in the zodiac. This astrolabe from Persia (modern

day Iran) is thought to be one of the oldest existing

geared instruments.

MUHAMMAD B. ABI BAKR,

ASTROLABE (ISFAHAN, 1221–22)

American Museum of Natural History Library

ASTRONOMY

187

TURNING CIRCLES

Celestial globes show the position of stars in the sky

as perceived from Earth. The art dates back thousands

of years—the first celestial globes were created in

ancient Greece. This example was designed by a

Franciscan monk named Vincenzo Coronelli, considered

to be one of the greatest globe makers in the world.

Coronelli often collaborated with Jean Baptist Nolin,

engraver to the French Crown. Working with draft

maps provided by Coronelli, Nolin engraved beautiful

baroque constellation figures of animals, men, and

mythical creatures shown in constant dialogue as they

move together across the sky. This globe also contains

information about wind direction. Half of its emblem

was left empty so that the makers could insert the name

of the person to whom it was to be dedicated.

VINCENZO CORONELLI, CELESTIAL

GLOBE (VENICE, 1699)

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library,

Yale University

ASTRONOMY

188

ASTRONOMY

189

MECHANICAL MAGIC

An orrery is a model of the solar system. This

mechanical marvel was made in London by the

mathematical instrument maker, John Troughton. It

displays the movement of Earth in relation to the Moon

and two other planets. The model rests on an octagonal

wooden base, above which curves a series of bands

marking celestial longitude and latitude. Orreries have

long been used in teaching and were even available for

purchase in Diagon Alley. At Hogwarts, they are not only

used for Astronomy, but also for “planetary divination.”

Professor Sybill Trelawney's orrery holds “the moons

[...] the nine planets and the fiery sun, all of them

hanging in thin air beneath the glass.”

HE WAS SORELY TEMPTED, TOO, BY THE

PERFECT, MOVING MODEL OF THE GALAXY

IN A LARGE GLASS BALL, WHICH WOULD

HAVE MEANT HE NEVER HAD TO TAKE

ANOTHER ASTRONOMY LESSON.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

ASTRONOMY

190

MINIATURE ORRERY MADE BY JOHN

TROUGHTON (LONDON, 18TH CENTURY)

Science Museum

ASTRONOMY

191

KEPLER ON THE STARS

Written by the imperial astronomer Johannes Kepler,

the Rudolphine Tables helped its readers to locate

the planets in relation to the stars. It was a massive

achievement, containing the position of 1,005 stars, and

is the most accurate star catalog of the pre-telescope

era. The elaborate illustrated frontispiece of the book

shows a temple of Urania, the Muse of Astronomy. The

temple is filled with great star-gazers—Hipparchus

of Nicaea, Ptolemy, Nicolaus Copernicus, Kepler's

predecessor Tycho Brahe, and an unnamed Chaldean,

an ancient people renowned for their astronomical

skills. In a panel underneath the temple there is also a

picture of Kepler himself.

“In 1617, Kepler's mother was suspected

of witchcraft, a crime punishable by

death. The accused spent over a year

in prison but was eventually released

when her son intervened. Kepler was an

official astronomer to the Holy Roman

Emperor—this family intrigue must have

been ver y difficult for him.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

ASTRONOMY

JOHANNES KEPLER,

TABULAE

RUDOLPHINAE

(ULM, 1627)

British Library

193

LEONARDO ON THE MOON

Leonardo da Vinci—inventor, scientist, artist—

was centuries ahead of his time. Throughout his career,

Leonardo made notes written in curious mirrored

handwriting that reads from right to left. Some of these

pages were later gathered into a notebook known as the

“Codex Arundel,” named after a former owner, the Earl

of Arundel. The shaded diagram in the center describes

the reflection of light, according to the alignments of the

Sun, Moon, and Earth. Leonardo's drawing shows the

Sun and Moon revolving around the Earth, accepting

the theory by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy that the

Earth was the center of the universe. Leonardo also

believed that the Moon was covered with water and

that its surface would reflect light like a convex mirror.

HARRY WATCHED THE CLOUDY SKY, CURVES

OF SMOKE-GRAY AND SILVER SLIDING OVER

THE FACE OF THE WHITE MOON. HE FELT

LIGHT-HEADED WITH AMAZEMENT AT HIS

DISCOVERIES.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

ASTRONOMY

LEONARDO DA VINCI'S NOTEBOOK

(ITALY, CA. 1506–8)

British Library

195

ASTRONOMY

A VIEW OF THE HEAVENS

Just the thing for Hogwarts First Years, Urania's Mir ror

is a set of 32 star charts, printed on cardstock and sold

for astronomical self-instruction. Each card is pierced

with holes that correspond to the size of the brightest

stars, giving a realistic impression of a constellation

when held up to the light. The cards were engraved

by the mapmaker Sidney Hall and then painted by

hand. The images were designed by an anonymous

“Lady,” who has since been identified as the Reverend

Richard Bloxam, an assistant master at Rugby School

in Warwickshire, England. It is unclear why Bloxam hid

his connection with these cards. Perhaps, like other

authors, he felt that his gender might affect sales in

a market that, at the time, wanted to attract female

customers.

THEY BOUGHT HARRY'S SCHOOL BOOKS IN A

SHOP CALLED FLOURISH AND BLOTTS WHERE

THE SHELVES WERE STACKED TO THE CEILING

WITH BOOKS AS LARGE AS PAVING STONES

BOUND IN LEATHER . . .

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

196

ASTRONOMY

URANIA'S

MIRROR; OR

A VIEW OF

THE HEAVENS

(LONDON, 1834)

British Library

197

ASTRONOMY

URANIA'S MIRROR; OR A VIEW OF THE

HEAVENS

(LONDON, 1834)

British Library

198

A SEAFARER'S STAR NOTES

Celestial navigation is the ancient science of finding

your way by the position of the stars, Moon, and

planets. Out of almost six thousand visible stars, only

58—the brightest—are used by navigators in their

almanacs. This handwritten notebook, sometimes

referred to as a commonplace book, has been filled with

information on maritime navigation gathered from a

variety of sources. The volume is wonderfully illustrated

with working dials, tables, and other drawings that are

both practical and eye-catching. Woodcuts from a 1710

issue of The Ladies' Diar y: or, the Woman's Almanack

complement its section on astronomy, and include

northern hemisphere constellations Draco (the Dragon)

and Cygnus (the Swan). The content of this notebook

suggests that it dates from the early 18th century, and

though it carries a bookplate of Cary Christopher Elwes,

the son-in-law of a British rear admiral, the identity of

its creator remains a mystery.

[...] HARRY LOOKED UPWARD AND SAW A

VELVETY BLACK CEILING DOTTED WITH

STARS. HE HEARD HERMIONE WHISPER, “IT'S

BEWITCHED TO LOOK LIKE THE SKY OUTSIDE,

I READ ABOUT IT IN

HOGWARTS: A HISTORY

.”

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

ASTRONOMY

199

A SEAFARER'S

NAVIGATION

NOTEBOOK,

(UNITED

STATES, 18TH

CENTURY)

New-York

Historical

Society

ASTRONOMY

200

A SEAFARER'S NAVIGATION NOTEBOOK,

(UNITED STATES, 18TH CENTURY)

New-York Historical Society

ASTRONOMY

203

A TRUE SEER

Here is the completed portrait of Professor Sybill

Trelawney, Harry Potter's Divination teacher at

Hogwarts, wrapped in a shawl and dressed in her

bangles and beads. To create this image Jim Kay

painted an initial version in which Trelawney was not

wearing her thick spectacles—the glasses and other

elements were designed separately and added digitally

later. The professor's fervent upward gaze captures

how swept up she could become in the theatrics of her

subject, in her view “the most difficult of all magical

arts.” The red glow of the Divination tower classroom

behind her is visually evocative of a grand theater set.

“MY NAME IS PROFESSOR TRELAWNEY. YOU

MAY NOT HAVE SEEN ME BEFORE. I FIND

THAT DESCENDING TOO OFTEN INTO THE

HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE MAIN SCHOOL

CLOUDS MY INNER EYE.”

—PROFESSOR TRELAWNEY, HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

DIVINATION

PORTRAIT OF SYBILL TRELAWNEY

BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

205

CHINESE ORACLE BONES

Oracle bones were used in divination rituals associated

with the cult of the ancestors in ancient China.

Questions relating to subjects as mundane as a king's

toothache to state affairs such as royal pregnancies,

warfare, agriculture, and natural disasters would be

engraved on the bone before heated metal sticks were

inserted into pre-carved hollows, causing the bone to

crack. The shaman then interpreted the patterns of the

fractures to “receive the oracle” from the spirits of the

ancestors. Oracle bones are archaeological evidence of

China's earliest documented writing system, known as

jiaguwen. These inscriptions are irrefutable historical

records of a highly advanced civilization in China by

the second millennium B.C.E., known as the Shang

dynasty. The oxen shoulder blade on the left has been

fragmented and bears an incomplete inscription,

but the first graph from the top is clearly visible and

denotes “divination.” It is believed that the bone on the

far right dates to the late Shang dynasty based on the

ancient drill holes on the obverse side.

DIVINATION

206

DIVINATION

207

WONDERS!!! PAST, PRESENT, AND TO COME;

BEING THE STRANGE PROPHECIES AND

UNCOMMON PREDICTIONS OF THE FAMOUS

MOTHER SHIPTON

(LONDON, 1797)

British Library

DIVINATION

208

MOTHER SHIPTON

Mother Shipton, known as the Yorkshire Prophetess,

is the subject of this little book. Little is known about

her life, and we cannot even be sure that she existed.

She was supposedly incredibly ugly, and in addition

to her powers of prophecy she was able to levitate.

Most of the “strange prophecies” in this book relate

to the succession of the British monarchy, although

Mother Shipton also predicted the day and time of her

own death, reputedly in 1561. She appeared in various

pamphlets from 1641 onward, and by the time this book

was published in 1797, she was being portrayed in

pantomimes on the London stage. Today, the prophetess

is best known for her birthplace, which was said to be

near the “Dropping Well” in Knaresborough, Yorkshire.

For centuries the well was believed to have magical

properties, and the capacity to turn objects into stone.

The waters actually have a high mineral content,

enabling them to petrify objects within a few weeks.

“Mother Shipton made her most famous

prophecy in 1530, when she foretold that

Cardinal Wolsey, who had been made

Archbishop of York, would see the city

but never reach it. According to this

book, Wolsey saw the city from the top

of a nearby castle, but was immediately

ar rested and taken to London.”

TANYA KIRK

Curator

DIVINATION

209

DIVINATION

A WITCH'S SCRYING MIRROR

Divination with a mirror or another reflective surface

is an ancient practice known as scrying. The term

originates from the word “descry,” meaning “to catch

sight of.” Despite being carved in the shape of an ugly,

old hag, the design of this mirror was very popular

among early 20th-century English witches, who would

have used it for divination. This item once belonged to

the witch Cecil Williamson. He warned that if you gaze

into it, “and suddenly see someone standing behind

you, whatever you do, do not turn around.” The Mirror

of Erised appears to act like a scrying mirror. It is

equally dangerous too, as “It shows us nothing more

or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our

hearts.”

HE WHIRLED AROUND. HIS HEART WAS

POUNDING FAR MORE FURIOUSLY THAN WHEN

THE BOOK HAD SCREAMED—FOR HE HAD SEEN

NOT ONLY HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR, BUT A

WHOLE CROWD OF PEOPLE STANDING RIGHT

BEHIND HIM.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

210

A WOODEN WITCH'S MIRROR

The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic,

Boscastle

DIVINATION

211

THE ART OF CARTOMANCY

Cartomancy is a form of divination that uses cards to

predict the future. Reading card decks for purposes

of divination can be traced at least as far back as the

15th century but tarot cards, produced especially

for fortune telling, became popular in Europe and

North America during the 18th century. The modern

tarot deck contains 78 cards divided into Minor and

Major sections. Each card has a different meaning

and arranged in spreads from 3 to 21 cards they tell

the story of a person's life. L'Ermite or the Hermit

represents soul-searching and introspection. La Force

or Fortitude, portrayed by a woman subduing a lion,

HAND-COLORED TAROT CARDS

(FRANCE, 18TH CENTURY)

New-York Historical Society

DIVINATION

212

represents inner strength and resilience. Fifteen cards

arranged in an upside down triangle create what is

known as a Witch's Spread. The power of the message

lies in the diviner as Harry Potter's teacher, Professor

Trelawney, constantly tells her class.

DIVINATION

213

DIVINATION

214

LUCKY IN LOVE?

In 19th-century Siam, people would have consulted

a divination specialist on matters of love and

relationships. This divination manual (phrommachat )

contains horoscopes based on the Chinese zodiac,

including drawings of the animals of the twelve-year

cycle and their reputed attributes—earth, wood, fire,

iron, and water. Each zodiac page is followed by a series

of paintings, which symbolize the fate of a person under

certain circumstances. The unnamed artist paid great

attention to every single detail: The facial expressions,

hand gestures and body language are beautifully

observed, along with the elaborate designs of clothes

and jewelry.

“This manuscript describes both

lucky and unlucky constellations for

couples, taking into consideration their

characters as well as their horoscopes.

Indeed, it would appear that a hot-

tempered couple would have a better

chance of living happily together than a

demonic male and an angelic female.”

JANA IGUNMA

Curator

DIVINATION

215

A THAI DIVINATION MANUAL

(

PHROMMACHAT

) (SIAM, 19TH CENTURY)

British Library

DIVINATION

216

DIVINATION

217

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO

CRYSTAL GAZING

In the late 19th century, as interest in crystal divination

increased, the clairvoyant John Melville wrote this

popular guide to help those struggling with the ancient

art. Melville recommended taking “an infusion of the

herb Mugwort . . . or of the herb Succory,” which, “if

taken occasionally during the Moon's increase . . .

[would] constitute an aid to the attainment of the most

desirable physical conditions of the experimenter's

body.” It is unclear how far Melville's instructions

helped those not gifted with Second Sight.

“I DO NOT EXPECT ANY OF YOU TO SEE WHEN

FIRST YOU PEER INTO THE ORB'S INFINITE

DEPTHS. WE SHALL START BY PRACTICING

RELAXING THE CONSCIOUS MIND AND

EXTERNAL EYES [...] PERHAPS, IF WE ARE

LUCKY, SOME OF YOU WILL SEE BEFORE

THE END OF THE CLASS.”

—PROFESSOR TRELAWNEY, HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

DIVINATION

218

JOHN MELVILLE,

CRYSTAL GAZING AND THE

WONDERS OF CLAIRVOYANCE, EMBRACING

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ART,

HISTORY, AND PHILOSOPHY OF THIS

ANCIENT SCIENCE

, 2ND EDN (LONDON, 1910)

British Library

DIVINATION

219

SEEING THE FUTURE

Early in their Divination classes, the Hogwarts students

gazing is a particularly refined

art.” It was also an art that

many of her students

struggled to master.

Harry “felt extremely

foolish, staring blankly

at the crystal ball,” while

Ron simply “made some

stuff up.” Crystallomancy

has its roots in the Middle

Ages, but this large ball is

typical of the orbs consulted

Egyptian-style column.

A CRYSTAL BALL

AND STAND

The Museum of Witchcraft

and Magic, Boscastle

DIVINATION

220

MAGIC JEWELS AND CRYSTAL BALLS

Since ancient times, certain stones and gems have been

prized for their magical qualities. In The Magic of Jewels

& Charms, George Kunz, chief gemologist for Tiffany

& Co., chronicles the folklore of gemstones across

time and place, from the magical stones used in rain-

making rites by Central African tribes to the feldspar

and quartz beach pebbles kept by Native Americans as

talismans. Kunz's writings also explore the tradition of

crystal gazing, the natural sources for rock crystal, and

techniques for making crystal balls. Japanese artisans

transformed rough masses of crystal into perfect

spheres by painstakingly chipping them with small

steel hammers and then grinding them to a fine polish,

while in Europe and

the US, workmen

relied almost

exclusively on

huge mechanized

grindstones to

shape the balls.

GEORGE KUNZ,

THE MAGIC

OF JEWELS

& CHARMS

(PHILADELPHIA,

1915)

New-York Historical

Society

DIVINATION

221

SMELLY NELLY'S CRYSTAL BALL

Ron, Hermione, and Harry's Divination lessons took

place in a heavily scented classroom, filled with a

“sickly sort of perfume.” “Smelly Nelly,” the 20th-

century English witch who owned this black crystal

ball, also had a taste for strong aromas. One witness

who saw her using it reported how, “You caught her

scent a mile off downwind.” Smelly Nelly believed that

the fragrance appealed to the spirits who helped her to

divine the future. Known as a Moon crystal, this black

globe had to be consulted at night, so that the seer

could read the Moon's reflection in the glass.

A BLACK MOON CRYSTAL BALL

The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle

DIVINATION

223

READING THE PALMS

Making a prediction based on the shape and lines

of the hand is known as palmistry or chiromancy.

This medieval manuscript contains a collection of

prophecies and treatises on fortune-telling. Every hand

contains three natural lines, forming a “triangle.” These

diagrams show a left and a right hand, onto which are

mapped the natural lines and other secondary lines. On

the right hand, a vertical stroke running down the palm

reads, “this line represents love.” A vertical line running

between the middle

and index finger

has a less fortunate

meaning: “This line

signifies a bloody

death and if the

line reaches unto

the middle of the

finger it signifies a

sudden death.”

READING THE

HANDS, IN A

FORTUNE-TELLING

MANUSCRIPT

(ENGLAND,

14TH CENTURY)

British Library

DIVINATION

224

THE FIRST DIVINATION LESSON OF

THE NEW TERM WAS MUCH LESS FUN;

PROFESSOR TRELAWNEY WAS NOW

TEACHING THEM PALMISTRY, AND

SHE LOST NO TIME IN INFORMING

HARRY THAT HE HAD THE SHORTEST

LIFE LINE SHE HAD EVER SEEN.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

DIVINATION

225

EVEN BY HARRY'S LOW STANDARDS IN

DIVINATION, THE EXAM WENT VERY BADLY…

[HE] ROUNDED OFF THE WHOLE FIASCO BY

MIXING UP THE LIFE AND HEAD LINES

ON HER PALM AND INFORMING HER THAT

SHE OUGHT TO HAVE DIED THE PREVIOUS

TUESDAY.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

A PALMISTRY HAND

This ceramic palmistry hand would have been used

for teaching. It shows the various lines and mounts on

the palm and wrist, along with some of their significant

meanings. Hands like this were first manufactured in

Britain in the 1880s, following the growing popularity of

palmistry inspired by the celebrated astrologer William

John Warner, also known as Cheiro or Count Louis

Hamon.

DIVINATION

226

DIVINATION

227

THE OLD EGYPTIAN FORTUNE-

TELLER'S LAST LEGACY

This fascinating 18th-century pamphlet explores,

and perhaps exploits, Egypt's mystical reputation.

Supposedly a collection of Egyptian divination

techniques, it was compiled by an anonymous British

writer. The Old Egyptian Fortune-Teller's Last Legacy

was printed cheaply and then sold to the lower middle

classes. In addition to palmistry, it explains how to

prick an image with a pin to decide whom to marry and

how to divine the future by interpreting the moles on

your face and body. Even the position and number of

your wrinkles are deemed to hold secrets to the future.

“HERE YOU ARE,” SAID THE MANAGER,

WHO HAD CLIMBED A SET OF STEPS TO

TAKE DOWN A THICK, BLACK-BOUND BOOK.

“

UNF

OGGING THE FUTURE

. VERY GOOD

GUIDE TO ALL YOUR BASIC FORTUNE-

TELLING METHODS—PALMISTRY, CRYSTAL

BALLS, BIRD ENTRAILS . . .”

—HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

DIVINATION

228

THE OLD EGYPTIAN FORTUNE-TELLER'S

LAST LEGACY

(LONDON, 1775)

British Library

LADY FATE

From the late 18th to the early 20th centuries, doll

owners sometimes converted their little charges into

fortune-tellers. They were a party novelty and a money-

making feature at charity bazaars and local fairs, where

the curious paid to take their turn. Plucking one of the

skirt's folded paper leaves yields a flowery fortune

DIVINATION

229

relating to love, friendship, and personality, such

as “beware the man that flatters you.” A few of the

handwritten messages in this example come from the

Oraculum, an oracle papyrus that Napoleon Bonaparte

purportedly discovered in Egypt. Though undoubtedly

a hoax, English-language publishers reprinted it

through the 19th century. A range of doll bodies, from

porcelain to papier-mâché, found

themselves transformed into

fortune-tellers. This type, known

as a “peg wooden,” hails from the

historic wood-carving center of

Val Gardena (Grödental) in the

South Tyrol region, then part

of Austria and today in

Northern Italy.

A FORTUNE-TELLING

DOLL (DOLL: VAL

GARDENA,

CA. 1825;

CLOTHING:

ENGLAND OR

UNITED STATES,

MID-19TH

CENTURY)

New-York Historical

Society

DIVINATION

230

A FORTUNE-TELLING TEACUP

Tasseography—from the French tasse (cup) and Greek

graph (writing)—is a form of divination that interprets

the sediment in cups, usually left by tea leaves. The

location and shape of the tea leaves left in the cup

have different symbolism. The first European accounts

of this method of divination appeared in the 17th

century, following the introduction of tea from China.

This delicate pink divination cup was made in the

1930s by Paragon, an English

manufacturer of bone china.

The inside of the cup

has been decorated

with symbols to

help interpret the

leaves. A legend

runs around

the rim: “Many

curious things I

see when telling

fortunes in your

tea.”

A FORTUNE-TELLING CUP AND SAUCER MADE

BY PARAGON (STOKE-ON-TRENT, CA. 1932–39)

The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle

DIVINATION

231

“[...] DRINK UNTIL ONLY THE DREGS REMAIN.

SWILL THESE AROUND THE CUP THREE

TIMES WITH THE LEFT HAND, THEN TURN

THE CUP UPSIDE DOWN ON ITS SAUCER;

WAIT FOR THE LAST OF THE TEA TO

DRAIN AWAY, THEN GIVE YOUR CUP

TO YOUR PARTNER TO READ.”

—

PROFESSOR TRELAWNEY,

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

DIVINATION

232

A HIGHLAND SEER

This detailed manual

on tea leaf divination

was written by an

unnamed author,

described on the

cover as “a Highland

Seer.” It provides

instructions not only

on interpreting the

various shapes made

by the leaves, but

also on the ideal size

and shape of cup and

the type of tea to use.

“In this book, the position of

each tea leaf symbol is also

significant. The author advises

that the nearer an image appears

to the handle of the cup, the

sooner the predicted event

will occur.”

TANYA KIRK

Curator

TEA CUP READING:

HOW TO TELL

FORTUNES BY

TEA LEAVES

BY A

HIGHLAND SEER

(TORONTO, CA.

1920)

British Library

DIVINATION

233

READING TEA LEAVES

This slim volume on tea leaf divination traces the first

use of tasseography all the way back to 229 B.C.E.

In that year, a Chinese princess rejected astrological

predictions in favor of a new technique proposed by

a student, using a popular beverage. The prophecies

she obtained using tea leaves were so accurate that

HOW TO READ THE FUTURE WITH TEA LEAVES

,

TRANSLATED FROM THE CHINESE BY MANDRA

(STAMFORD, CA. 1925)

British Library

DIVINATION

234

she “raised the fortunate cup reader to the dignity of

a Mandarin” (a significant promotion!). Most of the

pamphlet comprises a handy guide to decoding a range

of shapes formed by leaves in the bottom of the cup.

Many of the predictions are quite general; others are

bizarrely specific. Number 44, for instance, indicates,

“You will be interested in the Navy.” Readers struggling

with this volume might sympathize with Harry Potter,

who could only see “A load of soggy brown stuff.”

“Some of the shapes in this book are

remarkably difficult to tell apart.

Numbers 38 and 42 are tantalizingly

similar, but while the first means ‘You

will meet a stranger,' the other warns

that ‘You will make an enemy.'”

TANYA KIRK

Curator

DIVINATION

237

HARRY ARRIVES AT PRIVET DRIVE

This original drawing by J.K. Rowling depicts the

black night when Harry Potter was delivered to the

Dursleys. With only the Moon and stars to light the

way, since Dumbledore had put out the streetlamps

with his Deluminator, Privet Drive is not visible. The

giant Hagrid, still wearing his motorcycle goggles,

stoops down to show baby Harry Potter to Dumbledore

and Minerva McGonagall. Harry is the central focus

of this image, wrapped in a white blanket, shining as

brightly as the Moon. As the group contemplates the

baby, Dumbledore's forehead is creased with concern.

Professor McGonagall clasps her hands together, her

hair drawn back in a tight bun. This quiet, dark moment

was the beginning of Harry's story, fresh from his first

encounter with Lord Voldemort.

FOR A FULL MINUTE THE THREE OF THEM

STOOD AND LOOKED AT THE LITTLE BUNDLE;

HAGRID'S SHOULDERS SHOOK, PROFESSOR

MCGONAGALL BLINKED FURIOUSLY, AND THE

TWINKLING LIGHT THAT USUALLY SHONE

FROM DUMBLEDORE'S EYES SEEMED TO HAVE

GONE OUT.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

DRAWING OF HARRY POTTER, DUMBLEDORE,

MCGONAGALL, AND HAGRID BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

239

A MYSTERIOUS MAN

This portrait shows Professor Lupin, Harry Potter's

Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Remus Lupin

only taught Harry during his third year at Hogwarts,

resigning after Snape informed the students' parents

about the professor's “furry little problem.” Lupin,

of course, was a werewolf. Lupin's lessons offered

instruction on shape-shifting Boggarts and demonic

Grindylows, and it was he who taught Harry to cast a

Patronus for the first time. In this portrait, Lupin stands

with his hands in his pockets, averting his gaze from

the reader. The dark rings under his eyes and graying

hair perhaps make him look older than he really is. The

professor stands in his office, a bookcase behind him

loaded with bottles, books, and bones. A poster of the

Full Moon hangs on the shelves, representing the thing

he fears the most.

HE PUSHED HIS GRAYING HAIR OUT OF HIS

EYES, THOUGHT FOR A MOMENT, THEN SAID,

“THAT'S WHERE ALL OF THIS STARTS—WITH

MY BECOMING A WEREWOLF. NONE OF THIS

COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I HADN'T BEEN

BITTEN . . . AND IF I HADN'T BEEN SO

FOOLHARDY . . .”

—

PROFESSOR LUPIN,

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

240

A PORTRAIT OF PROFESSOR REMUS LUPIN

BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

“The grayscale coloring lends a solemn

air to this beguiling picture. Despite being

persecuted by the wizarding community,

Lupin was one of Har r y's closest links to

his deceased father.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

241

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

BEWARE THE WEREWOLF

Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg was a theologian who

preached at Strasbourg Cathedral in France. In 1508,

he gave a series of sermons for Lent, which were

transcribed and decorated with woodcut illustrations.

The collection was later posthumously published as

Die Emeis (The Ants). On the third Sunday of Lent

(“Oculi”), Geiler delivered a sermon on werewolves.

While Professor Snape may not have wished “to fathom

the way a werewolf's mind works,” Geiler listed seven

reasons why such beasts could attack—including

hunger, savageness, old age, and madness. He also

advised that the likelihood of being bitten was affected

by a werewolf's age and its experience of eating human

flesh.

242

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

JOHANN GEILER VON KAYSERSBERG,

DIE EMEIS

(STRASBOURG, 1516)

British Library

“If he were in charge, Geiler would never

have allowed a werewolf like Professor

Lupin anywhere near Hogwarts School.

According to his sermon, werewolves

were dangerous beasts that especially

liked to eat children.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

243

GAINST THE DARK ARTS

DEFENSE A

A WAND SHAPED LIKE A

SNAKE

The Museum of Witchcraft

and Magic, Boscastle

A SERPENTINE WAND

Snakes have long been considered

magical creatures with great

symbolic power. The ability of

snakes to shed and regrow their

skin is integral to their association

with renewal, rebirth, and

healing. In many cultures, snakes

also represent good and evil, a

dualism that has importance for

their connection with magic. As

Professor Dumbledore recognized

in the Harry Potter books, anyone

who associates with snakes is

“supposedly connected with the

Dark Arts, although as we know,

there are Parselmouths among

the great and the good too.” The

slender, serpentine wand at left

was a tool for channeling magical

forces—its dark color and snakelike

shape force us to question whether

it was used for good or for evil.

244

DEFENSE AGAINST THE D

ARK

A SERPENT STAFF

The Museum of Witchcraft

and Magic, Boscastle

ARTS

A SERPENT STAFF

This magic staff was carved from

bog oak: timber that had been

buried for centuries in peat. The

low oxygen levels, acidity, and

tannins of the peat preserved the

wood, hardening and blackening it

in the process. It was carved by the

Neopagan Stephen Hobbs and given

to a Wiccan priest named Stewart

Farrar during the late 20th century.

The staff is almost six feet long and

has been decorated with a serpent

in order to enhance its power.

Not only do snakes represent a

capacity for change, renewal, and

transformation, but their coils

symbolize the dual cycles of light

and dark, life and death, reason

and passion, healing and poison,

protection and destruction.

245

A SNAKE CHARMER

This image of a “wizard” charming a serpent is found

in a beautifully illustrated bestiary. The accompanying

text describes several mythological snakes, including

the cerastes (a horned serpent) and the scitalis (a

creature with incredible markings on its back). It

then focuses on the emor roris, a type of asp so called

because its bite causes hemorrhages of such disastrous

proportions a victim will sweat out their own blood

until they die. Fortunately, the manuscript explains one

way to avoid such a fate. If a conjurer sings to the asp

in its cave and lulls it to sleep, the snake charmer will

then be able to remove the precious stone that grows

on the asp's forehead. Without the stone, the snake

is rendered powerless.

“The thick gold leaf in this bestiar y

bathes the page in light. The manuscript

contains a further 80 illustrations of

various real and mythical creatures,

such as the phoenix, the unicorn,

and the centaur.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

246

IMAGE OF A SNAKE CHARMER, IN A BESTIARY

(ENGLAND, 13TH CENTURY)

British Library

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

ALBERTUS SEBA,

LOCUPLETISSIMI RERUM

NATURALIUM THESAURI ACCURATA DESCRIPTIO,

ET INCONIBUS ARTIFICIOSISSIMIS EXPRESSIO,

PER UNIVERSAM PHYSICES HISTORIAM,

4 VOLS

(AMSTERDAM, 1734–65)

British Library

248

“DINNER, NAGINI,” SAID VOLDEMORT SOFTLY,

AND THE GREAT SNAKE SWAYED AND

SLITHERED FROM HIS SHOULDERS ONTO

THE POLISHED WOOD.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

SSSSSNAKES ALIVE!

Albertus Seba was a Dutch apothecary and collector,

based in Amsterdam. From this center of maritime

trade, Seba supplied drugs to the Russian Tsar Peter the

Great. He also provided the port's ships with medicines,

which he often traded for exotic animal specimens.

After selling his first collection of snakes, birds, and

lizards to the Tsar in 1717, Seba began a second, larger

collection, which he kept in his own house. In 1731,

he commissioned artists to draw every single item in

precise detail. This was such a huge undertaking the

project was not completed until 30 years after Seba's

death and the volume contained 449 illustrated plates.

Many of the specimens Seba collected were used

for medical research. He took a keen interest in the

potential of snakes for lifesaving cures—his collection

contained many serpents such as this reticulated

python, native to Southeast Asia.

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

249

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

THE “RED-EYED DWARF”

These typed pages are part of an early draft of Harry

Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In this scene, Hagrid

comes to the office of Fudge, a Muggle minister, and

warns him about You-Know-Who (even in this early

draft Hagrid refuses to say the name). In turn, Fudge

warns the public about this “red-eyed dwarf.” The red

eyes remain in the final incarnation of Lord Voldemort,

but the character took time to develop fully into the

terrifying figure we now know from the published

stories. This scene is reminiscent of Cornelius Fudge

visiting the Prime Minister of the Muggles in the first

chapter of The Half-Blood Prince. As J.K. Rowling has

said, “I often cut ideas and put them into later books.

Never waste a good scene!”

“While many details of the world

described in this chapter are familiar

from the published books, such as the

concept of Muggles, these scenes provide

a ver y different account of the beginning

of the stor y.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

250

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

AN EARLY DRAFT OF

HARRY POTTER

AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

J.K. Rowling

251

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

252

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

253

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

254

AN ILLUSTRATOR'S FAVORITE WORK

Mary GrandPré considered Harry Potter and the Deathly

Hallows to be her most favorite cover. It depicts a fiery

orange sky, cracks in the battered walls of Hogwarts,

and eerie shadows that create a backdrop for the

ultimate confrontation between the Boy Who Lived

and the Dark Lord. Near the center of the cover, the

resurrected Harry is captured in the moment he defeats

Voldemort once and for all.

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

FOREWORD

255

JACKET ART FOR

HARRY POTTER

AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

BY MARY GRANDPRÉ (2007)

Warner Bros.

256

HARRY AND THE BASILISK

Salazar Slytherin's monster, the giant basilisk, is shown

coiling past Harry in this striking image from The

Chamber of Secrets. The beast is so huge, it is hard

to tell where its body begins or ends, and the dark

colors of its scales are oppressive and intimidating.

Harry is clutching the ruby-decorated sword of Godric

Gryffindor in his hands, frozen in the air mid-swing. The

bright white tip of the sword mirrors the sharp teeth

of the basilisk. The monster's terrible yellow eyes are

streaming with blood after Fawkes the phoenix has

pierced them with its beak. This is an intense picture

full of action and danger.

HARRY POTTER AND THE BASILISK

BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

257

THE BASILISK'S HEAD WAS FALLING,

ITS BODY COILING AROUND, HITTING

PILLARS AS IT TWISTED TO FACE HIM.

HE COULD SEE THE VAST, BLOODY EYE

SOCKETS, SEE THE MOUTH STRETCHING

WIDE, WIDE ENOUGH TO SWALLOW HIM

WHOLE, LINED WITH FANGS LONG AS HIS

SWORD, THIN, GLITTERING, VENOMOUS . . .

—HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

KING OF SERPENTS

This Italian manuscript contains 245 drawings of

different animals, executed by an individual known

as Idonius. Many of these creatures are mythical in

nature, including the jaculus (a flying serpent), the

onocentaur (half man, half donkey), and the basilisk,

shown here. The accompanying description is based

on the works of Claudius Aelianus and Pliny the Elder.

According to Aelianus, the basilisk was only the width

of a palm, but it could kill someone instantly with

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

258

A BASILISK, IN

HISTORIA ANIMALIUM

(ITALY, 1595)

British Library

“Pliny reported that, although the

basilisk was only twelve inches long,

both its touch and breath were deadly.

Intriguingly, the basilisk could be killed

using the scent of a weasel. If weasels

were let loose in their lairs, they were

able to slay the basilisk with their odor.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

its stare. In Africa, the creature was said to make a

whistling sound to scare away snakes that were feeding

on the cadavers of mules.

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

259

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION

OF THE BASILISK

This very Brief Description, comprising only a title page

and two pages of text, was written by Jacobus Salgado.

Salgado was a refugee from Spain and a convert to

Protestantism, who came to settle in England. Around

1680, in need of cash, Salgado displayed a “basilisk”

given to him by a Dutch doctor who had recently

returned from Ethiopia. The creature presumably had

been stuffed or preserved in some way. Salgado wrote

this pamphlet to accompany the spectacle, describing

the beast as yellow, with a crown-like crest and the

body of a rooster attached to a serpent's tail. The

pamphlet also spells out the danger of the basilisk's

glare. Salgado declares that “In the time of Alexander

the Great, there was one of them which, lying hid

in a wall, killed a great troop of his soldiers by the

poisonous glances of his eyes upon them.”

“Despite Salgado's terrifying description

of the basilisk, the creature on the

title page looks rather harmless, even

though it has just killed the person

in the foreground.”

TANYA KIRK

Curator

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

260

JACOBUS SALGADO, A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF

THE NATURE OF THE BASILISK, OR COCKATRICE

(LONDON, CA. 1680)

British Library

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

261

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

THE SPHINX

The Historie of Foure-Footed Beastes was the first

major book about animals to be published in English.

It features a variety of animals, from the common

(rabbits, sheep, goats) to the exotic (lions, elephants,

rhinoceroses) and the legendary. This chapter focuses

on the sphinx. The woodcut illustration shows a

creature with a woman's head and a lion's body.

Edward Topsell described the sphinx as “of a fierce

but tameable nature.” Less well known is its ability to

store food in its cheeks until it is ready to eat—just

like a hamster! Sphinxes are famous for their enigmatic

powers. In The Goblet of Fire, Harry had to answer the

sphinx's riddle to proceed through the maze during the

Triwizard Tournament.

IT HAD THE BODY OF AN OVERLARGE LION:

GREAT CLAWED PAWS AND A LONG YELLOWISH

TAIL ENDING IN A BROWN TUFT. ITS HEAD,

HOWEVER, WAS THAT OF A WOMAN. SHE

TURNED HER LONG, ALMOND-SHAPED EYES

UPON HARRY AS HE APPROACHED.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

262

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

EDWARD TOPSELL,

THE HISTORIE OF

FOURE-FOOTED BEASTES

(LONDON, 1607)

British Library

263

THE RESTRICTED

SECTION BY MARY

GRANDPRÉ

Scholastic

FORBIDDEN BOOKS

The Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library

contains rare and valuable volumes as well as books

deemed inappropriate or dangerous for young witches

and wizards. Moste Potente Potions, Magick Moste

Evile, and Secrets of the Darkest Art are just a few of

the forbidden titles. In this pastel illustration, the

artist Mary GrandPré evokes the vantage point of

the youngest of wizards who are not yet tall enough

to reach the most dangerous of books. Sneaking into

the Restricted Section is the very first thing Harry

does with his Invisibility Cloak in The Sorcerer's Stone.

In the absence of a charmed cloak, students are

granted access only with a note signed by a professor;

Hermione obtains the gullible Professor Lockhart's

signature when she needs to research the Polyjuice

Potion in The Chamber of Secrets.

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

264

A

NENEKO

KAPPA IN AKAMATSU

S

O

–

TAN,

TONEGAWA ZUSHI

(EDO, 1855)

British Library

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

265

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

266

THE KAPPA

The kappa takes its name from the Japanese words

for “river” and “child.” These were mischievous

creatures, with the power to pull people into the lakes

or rivers in which they dwelt. The wizarding world's

famous Magizoologist Newt Scamander recognized

this danger, noting that “The Kappa feeds on human

blood but may be persuaded not to harm a person if it

is thrown a cucumber with that person's name carved

into it.” The neneko kappa, illustrated above, moved

to a new location every year, causing destruction

wherever it went.

“The kappa's head has a distinctive

hollow to contain its vital fluid. In

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find

Them, Scamander advised that the

wizard should trick the kappa into

bowing, so that the water in its head

would run out, depriving it of its

strength.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

267

AMULET SCROLLS

Amulets, written on leather

or metal, have been worn

by Ethiopians and other

peoples in the Horn of Africa

for thousands of years. This

practice remains strongest

in the northern Highlands of

Ethiopia, where amulets are

TWO AMULET SCROLLS,

ONE WITH A PROTECTIVE

CYLINDRICAL CASE

(ETHIOPIA, 18TH CENTURY)

British Library

268

“The drawings in this scroll

have a specific purpose. They

are intended to cure sickness,

to exorcise demons, and to

protect those taking long and

difficult journeys.”

EYOB DERILLO

Curator

believed to bring health, protect

babies, and ward off the evil eye.

The parchment scrolls themselves

are known as Ketab, and they

vary considerably in length. They

are kept in leather cases, or in

cylindrical silver containers like

those shown here. The Ketab can

then be hung up at home or worn

around the neck, depending on

their size. This particular scroll

was created to protect its owner

from harm. It contains prayers for

undoing spells (maftehé seray), after

which the talismanic drawings were

added, giving effect to its powers.

DEFENSE AGAINST THE D

ARK A

RTS

269

ETHIOPIAN TALISMANS

This personally annotated, magical recipe book

was made in Ethiopia. Written in Ge'ez, also known

as classic Ethiopic, it contains a rich collection

of protective amulets, talismans, charms, and

incantations. This manuscript would have belonged to

an exorcist or a Däbtära, a highly educated religious

figure. Däbtäras typically study for several years

or come from families of clergy. On these pages are

talismans and geometric images, used for making

amulet scrolls, and accompanied by prayers for

undoing spells and charms. Talismanic drawing focuses

on the image of the eye, providing a defense against the

evil eye and the dark arts.

“Since medieval times, Däbtäras have

worked in the courts or have taught in

small parish schools, supplementing

their income by producing amulet

scrolls and practicing traditional

medicine. From the marginal notes in

this recipe book, we can deduce with

some certainty that it belonged to a

practitioner of magic.”

EYOB DERILLO

Curator

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

270

AN ETHIOPIAN MAGICAL RECIPE BOOK (1750)

British Library

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS

274

HAGRID

Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant, introduced Harry to many

of the wonderful creatures that stride, scuttle, and soar

around the wizarding world. Jim Kay's artwork brings

to life Hagrid's mane of black hair and “wild, tangled

beard.” “Hagrid is a relief to draw,” says Jim Kay,

“because drawing children you can't put a line wrong,

a misplaced scribble can age a child by ten years.

There are no such problems with Hagrid; he's a mass

of scribbles with eyes.” In the Harry Potter books, the

gamekeeper was a reliable and trustworthy presence,

despite his blind spot toward dangerous beasts. Hagrid

became the professor for Care of Magical Creatures in

Harry's third year.

“HAGRID [IS] THE EARTHY, WARM, AND

PHYSICAL MAN, LORD OF THE FOREST;

DUMBLEDORE THE SPIRITUAL THEORETICIAN,

BRILLIANT, IDEALIZED, AND SOMEWHAT

DETACHED. EACH IS A NECESSARY

COUNTERPOINT TO THE OTHER AS HARRY

SEEKS FATHER FIGURES IN HIS NEW WORLD.”

—J.K. ROWLING ON POTTERMORE

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275

PORTRAIT OF RUBEUS HAGRID BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

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276

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

“Throughout history, there have been

records of both dangerous and friendly

giants. An example of the latter is the

Cornish giant Holiburn, who died of

grief after accidentally killing a youth by

tapping him playfully on the head. This

anecdote shows that, despite their lethal

size and phenomenal strength, giants are

often big of heart.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

A GIANT FROM UNDERGROUND

Were skeletons of 300-foot-tall giants found on Mount

Erice in Sicily? While traveling in Italy, the German

author Athanasius Kircher became fascinated with

the idea of what might lie beneath the earth. He even

climbed inside the volcano Mount Vesuvius, which

had last erupted seven years earlier. Kircher claimed

that an enormous skeleton had been discovered

sitting in a Sicilian cave in the 14th century. In

Kircher's Mundus Subter raneus (“The Underground

World”) he shows the scale of it in comparison to

a normal human, the Biblical giant Goliath, a Swiss

giant, and a Mauritanian giant.

277

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

THE SKELETON OF A GIANT, IN

ATHANASIUS KIRCHER,

MUNDUS

SUBTERRANEUS

(AMSTERDAM, 1678)

American Museum of Natural History Library

278

HAGRID AND HARRY

AT GRINGOTTS

In this original drawing by J.K. Rowling, Hagrid is shown

taking Harry on his first trip to his vault at Gringotts,

located in the caverns deep beneath the wizarding bank.

Hagrid covers his eyes with his hand during the ride.

Harry, on the other hand, keeps his eyes “wide open” for

the whole journey. This image shows visually Hagrid's

discomfort at being cramped up inside the Gringotts

cart. J.K. Rowling uses the giant's streaming hair and

the torch flame bending in the wind to convey a sense

of rattling speed.

[. . .] WHEN THE CART STOPPED AT LAST

BESIDE A SMALL DOOR IN THE PASSAGE

WALL, HAGRID GOT OUT AND HAD TO LEAN

AGAINST THE WALL TO STOP HIS KNEES

FROM TREMBLING.

— HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

279

DRAWING OF HARRY AND HAGRID

AT GRINGOTTS BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

280

A DRAFT OF

THE SORCERER'S STONE

This typed draft represents an unedited version of

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. As part of the

editorial process, a literary draft may be amended in

order to improve the pacing. For a scene like this, full

of action and drama, some passages were subsequently

shortened to move the story along more quickly. Some

scenes, in turn, may be completely cut, such as the

encounter with a preoccupied Nearly Headless Nick,

and Hermione reciting the textbook definition of trolls,

both shown on page 167 of this draft.

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

“Here you can read a slightly different account of Ron

and Harry coming face-to-face with a troll in the girls'

bathroom. For example, the paragraph at the top of

page 175 is reduced to two sentences in the published

text. This draft also preserves the idea of securing the

door with a chain, rather than locking the door with

a key, as occurs in the published version.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

281

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

A TYPED DRAFT OF

HARRY POTTER AND

THE SORCERER'S STONE

BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

282

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

283

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

284

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

285

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286

DRAWING OF A MOUNTAIN TROLL BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

A MOUNTAIN TROLL

This is a preparatory study of a mountain troll or, to

use the scientific name, Troglodytarum alpinum. In J.K.

Rowling's wizarding world trolls can grow to twelve feet

tall, and are extremely strong and thick skinned. Due

to the very small size of their brains, they are easily

confused and quick to flare into a temper. A violent

disposition, alongside a taste for human flesh, meant

that these creatures were classed as dangerous by the

Ministry of Magic. This troll, covered in growths and

with a perplexed look in its eye, is typical of its species.

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

287

IT WAS A HORRIBLE SIGHT.

TWELVE FEET TALL,

ITS SKIN WAS A DULL,

GRANITE GRAY, ITS GREAT

LUMPY BODY LIKE A

BOULDER WITH ITS SMALL

BALD HEAD PERCHED ON

TOP LIKE A COCONUT. IT

HAD SHORT LEGS THICK

AS TREE TRUNKS WITH

FLAT, HORNY FEET.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

TROLL BY MARY GRANDPRÉ

Scholastic

289

DRAWING OF NEARLY

HEADLESS NICK BY J.K.

ROWLING (1991)

J.K. Rowling

NEARLY HEADLESS NICK

J.K. Rowling's drawing of Nearly Headless Nick shows

the Gryffindor ghost demonstrating exactly how you

can be nearly headless. As a ghost, Nick could not enjoy

simple pleasures such as eating food, a fact that he

lamented at Harry's first Hogwarts feast. He also nursed

resentment at

his botched

beheading, which

prevented him

from joining the

Headless Hunt.

J.K. Rowling

has elsewhere

defined a ghost

in Harry Potter's

world as, “the

transparent,

three-

dimensional

imprint of a

deceased witch

or wizard, which

continues to

exist in the

mortal world.”

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

290

DRAWING OF

PEEVES BY

J.K. ROWLING

(1991)

J.K. Rowling

PEEVES THE POLTERGEIST

Peeves is shown here in his visible form, but he was

able to become invisible at will. A poltergeist (meaning

“noisy ghost” in German) is generally understood to

be a malevolent spirit. In this drawing, Peeves almost

resembles a court jester, with his curly-toed shoes,

bow tie, and spotted hat. J.K. Rowling has captured his

glinting, wicked eyes, emphasizing them with a pair of

slanted eyebrows. The poltergeist's pranks were often

crude, but extremely effective. Following Professor

Umbridge, then blowing raspberries whenever she

spoke, is a prime and very Peeve-ish example.

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291

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THE ESCAPE FROM GRINGOTTS

This is the very first handwritten draft of the scene in

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in which Harry,

Ron, and Hermione escape from Gringotts bank on the

back of a dragon. The first page describes the dramatic

escape, and a little arrow in the corner indicates that

the scene continues on the previous page. There are

many crossings-out and added sentences in both

margins. The second page describes Harry destroying

a cup, the Hufflepuff Horcrux, while his friends are still

in the Lestranges' vault. This is an event that does not

take place in the published text—instead Hermione is

the one who destroys the cup.

“When I'm planning I often have multiple

ideas popping up at the same time, so I'm

attempting to catch the best ones as they

fly by and preserve them on paper. My

notebooks are full of ar rows and triple

asterisks instructing me to move forward

four pages, past the ideas I jotted down

hur riedly twenty minutes ago, to continue

the thread of the stor y.”

J.K. Rowling

292

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“This manuscript demonstrates that J.K.

Rowling did not necessarily write the

scenes in her books in order, and that

some of them were later rewritten. Note

how Harr y's dialogue is represented by an

X on the second page, to be filled in with

something appropriate at a later stage.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

AN EARLY

DRAFT OF

HARRY

POTTER AND

THE DEATHLY

HALLOWS

BY J.K.

ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

293

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

294

ULISSE ALDROVANDI,

SERPENTUM ET

DRACONUM HISTORIAE

(BOLOGNA,

1640)

British Library

“Aldrovandi's study provides detailed

descriptions of snakes, dragons, and other

monsters, explaining their temperament

and habitat. Depicted here are two types

of Ethiopian dragon, distinguishable by

the ridges on their back.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

295

ETHIOPIAN DRAGONS

On May 13, 1572, the same day that Pope Gregory XIII

was invested, a “monstrous dragon” was found in the

countryside near Bologna. Recognized as a bad omen,

the dragon's body was sent for analysis to the Pope's

cousin, the celebrated naturalist and collector Ulisse

Aldrovandi. Although Aldrovandi quickly wrote up his

findings, his work was not published for nearly 60 years,

appearing posthumously in 1640 as A History of Snakes

and Dragons. This might have been just the sort of text

Hagrid needed when “looking up stuff about dragons”

for hatching Norbert, or when Harry was in the library

pulling down “every book he could find on dragons” for

the Triwizard Tournament.

PROBABLY THE MOST FAMOUS OF ALL

MAGICAL BEASTS, DRAGONS ARE AMONG THE

MOST DIFFICULT TO HIDE. THE FEMALE IS

GENERALLY LARGER AND MORE AGGRESSIVE

THAN THE MALE, THOUGH NEITHER SHOULD

BE APPROACHED BY ANY BUT HIGHLY SKILLED

AND TRAINED WIZARDS.

—FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

296

DRAGON EGGS BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

DRAGON EGGS

Jim Kay's study of dragon eggs reflects the sheer

variety of dragon species in Harry Potter's world. The

artist painted the shape and base colors of the eggs

first, then added and overlaid extra details and flecks of

color to the final versions. A scale to indicate the size

of these eggs shows the smallest to be about six inches

high (about the same size as an ostrich egg) and the

largest up to fifteen inches. Some of the eggs are simple

and almost ordinary looking, while others unmistakably

belong in

the magical

world. All

of the egg

species

would have

been familiar,

of course,

to Newt

Scamander.

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

297

AN OUTSTANDING OWL

First year students at Hogwarts were allowed to bring

an owl, cat, or a toad to school—each animal had an

historic magical significance as a powerful familiar of

witches and wizards. In The Sorcerer's Stone, Hagrid

bought Harry a beautiful female Snowy Owl, whom

the boy named Hedwig. John James Audubon's iconic

watercolor contains a pair of these enormous birds.

In front is the larger female—26 inches tall with a

wingspan of 56 inches— with salt-and-pepper plumage,

while the smaller male gets paler with age. Audubon's

dazzling watercolor is his model for a plate in The

Birds of America (1827 – 38), which was engraved by

Robert Havell Jr. The artist, who was the first person

to portray all his birds life-size, painted the pair on

double-elephant-size paper (40 inches high). The owl's

hypnotic eyes—with yellow irises designed to gather

maximum light in the polar twilight—are riveted on the

beholder. Audubon knew that visually stunning Snowy

Owls hunt during the day or early evening rather than

at night. To make these majestic creatures stand out

from the white paper, he created a dusky background

with a gathering winter storm.

JOHN JAMES AUDUBON,

SNOWY OWL

(

BUBO

SCANDIACUS

),

WATERCOLOR STUDY FOR

HAVELL Pl

.

121

(United States, 1829)

New-York Historical Society

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299

DAWN OF ORNITHOLOGY

These extraordinary “portraits” of owls reflect the

humanistic culture of 16th century Europe that

emphasized learning through observation and the

quest for knowledge. They document one of the most

complex, early scientific efforts to catalog natural

phenomena taxonomically. At the dawn of ornithology,

16th century artists aspired to portray their birds

life-size, but the largest paper available measured

roughly 11 x 16 inches. Therefore, they could only

depict smaller species life-size, as seen in a trove of 215

avian watercolors at the New-York Historical Society.

Formerly mounted in albums, these exceptional works

were gathered together in France and later belonged to

the Dukes of Devonshire in England.

2

1

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300

3

4

1

ISAAC LA GRESE

(ATTRIBUTED),

BARN OWL

(

TYT

O ALBA

)

,

DARK-BREASTED VARIANT,

EFFRAIE DES CLOCHERS

(FRANCE OR SWITZERLAND,

CA. 1548–55)

New-York Historical Society

3

UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST

ASSOCIATED WITH CONRAD

GESNER,

GESNER'S

“NOCTUA

” (FRANCE OR

SWITZERLAND,

CA. 1554)

New-York Historical Society

2

PIERRE VASE/ESKRICH

(ATTRIBUTED),

EUROASIAN SCOPS OWL

(OTUS SCOPS), RUFOUS

VARIANT, PETIT-DUC SCOPS,

(FRANCE OR SWITZERLAND,

CA. 1548–55)

New-York Historical Society

4

UNIDENTIFIED AVIAN

ARTIST,

EAGLE OWL

(

BUBO

BUBO

),

GRAND-DUC

D'EUROPE

(FRANCE OR

SWITZERLAND, CA. 1548–55)

New-York Historical Society

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

301

A CUNNING CAT

Conrad Gessner was a Swiss naturalist whose Historiae

Animalium is one of the earliest printed zoological

texts. Gessner used realistic woodcuts to illustrate the

animals being described, including enough detail to

aid identification, unlike the earlier fable and bestiary

collections. Cats already had a bad reputation—here

they are said to possess “a cunning character.” Edward

Topsell, the first English translator of Gessner's work,

noted, “The familiars of witches do most ordinarily

appear in the shape of cats, which is an argument that

the beast is dangerous to soul and body.” Elsewhere,

Gessner asserted that, “men have been known to lose

their strength, perspire violently, and even faint at the

sight of a cat.”

SOMETHING BRUSHED HIS ANKLES. HE

LOOKED DOWN AND SAW THE CARETAKER'S

SKELETAL GRAY CAT, MRS. NORRIS, SLINKING

PAST HIM. SHE TURNED LAMPLIKE YELLOW

EYES ON HIM FOR A MOMENT BEFORE

DISAPPEARING BEHIND A STATUE OF WILFRED

THE WISTFUL.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

302

CONRAD GESSNER,

HISTORIAE ANIMALIUM

(ZÜRICH, 1551–87)

British Library

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

303

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A TOXIC TOAD

Toads have long featured in magical folklore, their

properties ranging from predicting the weather to

bringing good luck. When Johann Baptist von Spix,

the German biologist, visited Brazil he described this

species of toad, Bufo agua, also known as the cane

toad or giant marine toad. The cane is the world's

largest toad, recognizable for its unwebbed hands

and feet, its brown-colored iris, and the venom glands

dotted across the surface of its skin, which produce a

toxic, milky secretion. Unfortunately, it is dangerous

to many animals, such as dogs. At Hogwarts, Neville

Longbottom's pet toad Trevor seemed much more

benign.

AT LONG LAST, THE TRAIN STOPPED AT

HOGSMEADE STATION, AND THERE WAS A

GREAT SCRAMBLE TO GET OUTSIDE; OWLS

HOOTED, CATS MEOWED, AND NEVILLE'S PET

TOAD CROAKED LOUDLY FROM UNDER HIS HAT.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

“Toads often feature in old folk remedies for

common ailments and complaints. Rubbing a

toad on a wart was said to cure it, but only if

you impaled the toad and left it to die.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

304

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

J.B. VON SPIX,

ANIMALIA NOVA, SIVE SPECIES

NOVÆ TESTUDINUM ET RANARUM, QUAS IN

ITINERE PER BRASILIAM ANNIS 1817–1820 . . .

COLLEGIT, ET DESCRIPSIT

(MUNICH, 1824)

British Library

305

RON AND HARRY MEET ARAGOG

Imagine, if your greatest fear were spiders, how you

might feel meeting an Acromantula. Jim Kay's image of

the horrific spider captures every creepy detail of the

carnivorous creature that Harry and Ron encountered

in the Forbidden Forest. In the background, hundreds of

spiders' legs become indistinguishable from the spiky

trees around them. Strands of cobwebs gleam white

in Harry's wandlight. Aragog is the originator of this

spider colony—a combination of too many eyes and too

many horribly hairy legs. This painting was layered with

a watercolor tone and edited to create the final image.

[...] A SPIDER THE SIZE OF A SMALL

ELEPHANT EMERGED, VERY SLOWLY. THERE

WAS GRAY IN THE BLACK OF HIS BODY AND

LEGS, AND EACH OF THE EYES ON HIS UGLY,

PINCERED HEAD WAS MILKY WHITE.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

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306

ARAGOG BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

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307

BIRD-EATING SPIDERS

Maria Sibylla Merian was a pioneering naturalist and

zoological illustrator, celebrated for her groundbreaking

work on South American insects. Between 1699 and

1701, Merian worked in the Dutch colony of Surinam,

where she made the drawings of these arachnids for

Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium. Merian's

scientific expedition to this remote location was

reputedly the first to be led by a European woman.

Like Hagrid, who cared for Aragog when he “was only

a boy,” Merian's fascination with insects developed in

childhood. Many of the species first encountered by

Merian in Surinam were unknown to Western science.

“When Merian published this image of giant,

bird-eating spiders, she was denounced as a

fantasist by her male peers. Her hand-painted

books nevertheless sold well, but it was not

until 1863 that the genuine existence of this

bird-eating spider was finally accepted.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

308

MARIA SIBYLLA MERIAN,

METAMORPHOSIS

INSECTORUM SURINAMENSIUM

(AMSTERDAM, 1705)

American Museum of Natural History Library

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309

BUCKBEAK THE HIPPOGRIFF

In this Jim Kay illustration, Buckbeak has taken over

his beloved owner's bed, a snack of dead ferrets resting

under his claws. Hagrid received orders from the

Ministry of Magic to tether the hippogriff, but he could

not bear to leave “Beaky” tied up outside, alone in the

snow. The interior of Hagrid's cabin was drawn from the

real-life gardener's hut at Calke Abbey in Derbyshire,

England. The vibrant blue highlights echo the famous

bluebells that grow there. The word “hippogriff” is

derived from the ancient Greek for “horse” and the

Italian for “griffin.” The griffin, with its eagle's head

and lion's hindquarters, is said to be the hippogriff's

ancestor.

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BUCKBEAK THE HIPPOGRIFF BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

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311

ORLANDO FURIOSO

Ludovico Ariosto was the first to describe the hippogriff

in 1516 in his epic poem Orlando Furioso. He was

inspired by the Roman author Virgil, who used the

union of a horse with a griffin as a metaphor for ill-

fated love—a central theme in Orlando Furioso. In this

18th-century illustration, the knight, Ruggiero, has

tied his hippogriff mount to a tree. Unbeknownst to

him, the tree was actually another knight who had

been transformed by an evil sorceress. Her monstrous

minions can be seen approaching in the background.

“This luxur y edition of Orlando Furioso

was printed on vellum (calf skin) with

engravings after Pietro Antonio Novelli.

It once belonged to King George III.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

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312

LUDOVICO ARIOSTO,

ORLANDO FURIOSO

(VENICE, 1772–3)

British Library

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313

HUNTING THE UNICORN

Ever since the Greek physician Ctesias first described

the medicinal properties of unicorns around 400 B.C.E.,

these elusive animals have attracted human hunters.

This image of the killing and skinning of the “pirassoipi,”

a twin-horned unicorn, is found in a study by Ambroise

Paré, surgeon to the French Crown. Unsurprisingly,

the hunters in the scene have a cruel appearance.

As Firenze told Harry in The Sorcerer's Stone, “it is a

monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn.”

THE UNICORN IS A BEAUTIFUL

BEAST FOUND THROUGHOUT

THE FORESTS OF NORTHERN

EUROPE. IT IS A PURE WHITE,

HORNED HORSE WHEN FULLY

GROWN, THOUGH THE FOALS

ARE INITIALLY GOLDEN AND

TURN SILVER BEFORE

ACHIEVING MATURITY.

—FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

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314

AMBROISE PARÉ,

DISCOURS D'AMBROISE PARÉ

,

CONSEILLER

,

ET PREMIER CHIRURGIEN DU ROY

.

ASÇAVOIR

,

DE LA MUMIE

,

DE LA LICORNE

,

DES

VENINS

,

ET DE LA PESTE

(PARIS, 1582)

British Library

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315

A UNICORN HORN?

The mythical unicorn was once revered for its

ability to heal and to purify. In The Sorcerer's

Stone, Voldemort strengthens himself by drinking

restorative blood from slain unicorns. Harry

and his fellow Hogwarts students use powdered

unicorn horn as a potion ingredient, just as

alchemists and apothecaries did during the Middle

Ages and early modern period. Those prized

horns, however, came not from white, horned

horses, as many believed, but from the narwhal or

“unicorn of the sea,” a real animal that still inhabits

Arctic waters. Male narwhals grow a spiral tusk—

actually an elongated tooth—up to ten feet long.

When marketed as unicorn horn, the tusks could

command very high prices and were collected by

royalty across Europe. This impressive specimen

was acquired by Arctic explorer John Stanwell-

Fletcher in the first half of the 20th century and

given to the Explorers Club in New York City.

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316

NARWHAL

TUSK

The Explorers

Club, New York

City

“HARRY POTTER, DO YOU

KNOW WHAT UNICORN

BLOOD IS USED FOR?”

“NO,” SAID HARRY,

STARTLED BY THE ODD

QUESTION. “WE'VE ONLY

USED THE HORN AND

TAIL-HAIR IN POTIONS.”

—HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE

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FIVE SPECIES OF UNICORN

The Histoire générale des Drogues was a practical

manual that described an array of popular 17th-century

medicinal ingredients. It was written by Pierre Pomet, a

Parisian pharmacist and chief apothecary to King Louis

XIV of France. In the chapter on the unicorn, Pomet

would not confirm the animal's existence, conceding

that “we know not the real truth of the matter,” but

he did acknowledge that what was commonly sold

as unicorn's horn “is the horn of a certain fish called

narwhal.” According to Pomet, whatever its origin, the

horn was “well used, on account of the great properties

attributed to it, principally against poisons.”

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“Accompanying Pomet's text are the images

of five different species of unicorn. These

are the camphur (a horned ass from Arabia),

the pirassoipi (a unicorn with twin horns),

and three unidentified breeds noted by the

naturalist John Johnstone in 1632.”

ALEXANDER LOCK

Curator

318

PIERRE POMET,

HISTOIRE GÉNÉRALE DES

DROGUES

,

TRAITANT DES PLANTES

,

DES

ANIMAUX ET DES MINÉRAUX

(PARIS, 1694)

British Library

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319

A LION-LIKE UNICORN

This unusual unicorn appears in a 16th-century Greek

manuscript. The accompanying text is a poem about

the natural world composed by the Byzantine poet

Manuel Philes. According to the poem, the unicorn

was a wild beast with a dangerous bite—it had the tail

of a boar and the mouth of a lion. If such a unicorn

was encountered, the beast could only be snared by a

woman. This is in line with medieval folklore stipulating

that unicorns must be captured by female virgins. The

unicorn would place its head in the virgin's lap and

then fall asleep, allowing the hunter to sneak up on it

unawares.

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FOREWORD

320

MANUEL

PHILES,

ON THE

PROPERTIES

OF ANIMALS

(PARIS, 16TH

CENTURY)

British Library

321

STUDY OF THE PHOENIX BY JIM KAY

Bloomsbury

322

FAWKES THE PHOENIX

Harry Potter first met Fawkes the phoenix in

Dumbledore's office in his second year. It happened to

be a “Burning Day,” meaning that the bird burst into

flames and was reborn from the ashes before Harry's

very eyes. Later, the fully grown Fawkes came to Harry's

rescue in the Chamber of Secrets. Jim Kay's glorious

painting of the bird captures the brilliant reds and

golds of the phoenix's feathers. The image seems to

soar across the surface of the page, almost taking off at

the edges. Kay has also painted details of the feathers,

the egg, and the eye, which were used in the final

composite image.

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“Jim Kay's delicate study of the single

phoenix feather shows how the different

colors blend, in a similar way to that of

less exotic birds such as the mallard.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

323

RISING FROM THE FLAMES

This 13th-century bestiary describes and illustrates the

phoenix in wonderful detail. The bird's most remarkable

attribute is its ability to resurrect itself in old age. It

creates its own funeral pyre from branches and plants,

before fanning the flames with its wings, in order to

be consumed by the fire. After the ninth day, it rises

again from the ashes. This legendary ability has often

been compared to the self-sacrifice and resurrection

of Christ—in some traditions, the phoenix signifies the

eternal life of the faithful Christian.

“The phoenix is a semi-mythical bird,

seldom spotted and, according to Newt

Scamander, rarely domesticated by

wizards. This bestiary claims that the

phoenix dwells in Arabia, but Newt

Scamander extended its distribution

to Egypt, India, and China.”

JULIAN HARRISON

Lead Curator

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324

THE

PHOENIX

IN A

MEDIEVAL

BESTIARY

(ENGLAND,

13TH

CENTURY)

British Library

THE BIRD, MEANWHILE, HAD BECOME A

FIREBALL; IT GAVE ONE LOUD SHRIEK AND

NEXT SECOND THERE WAS NOTHING BUT A

SMOLDERING PILE OF ASH ON THE FLOOR.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

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325

THE HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION

OF THE PHOENIX

In 1550, when global exploration was in its infancy

and new animals were being constantly discovered,

the French author Guy de la Garde devoted an entire

study to the phoenix. This fine volume features a hand-

colored picture of the creature emerging from a burning

tree. The translated caption reads: “A description of

the phoenix and its fortunate place of residence, of its

long life, pure conversation, excellent beauty, diverse

colors, and of its end and remarkable resurrection.” De

la Garde dedicated the book to Princess Marguerite, a

patron of the arts and sister of King Henri II of France,

probably in an attempt to gain her favor through

association with this miraculous bird.

“Phoenixes are historically associated with

the Sun. The crest of seven feathers on the

bird's head cor responds to the seven rays

which traditionally emit from the head of

Helios, the Greek god of the Sun.”

TANYA KIRK

Curator

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326

A PHOENIX, IN GUY DE LA GARDE,

L'HISTOIRE ET DESCRIPTION DU

PHOENIX

(PARIS, 1550)

British Library

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327

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THE SIMURGH, AN

IRANIAN THUNDERBIRD

Like the phoenix or the thunderbird, its North American

relative, the Iranian simurgh's exact form and qualities

are much disputed. It was traditionally portrayed

in pre-Islamic Iran as a composite creature with a

snarling canine head, forward-pointing ears, wings,

and a “peacock” tail. In Persian literature, however, the

simurgh was usually depicted in flight with fantastic

swirling tail feathers. It is best known in this culture as

the bird who reared the hero Zal on a mountaintop and

healed the wounded warrior Rustam. Subsequently, as

king of the birds, the simurgh became a metaphor for

God in Sufi mysticism.

“This bestiar y was especially popular in

Central Asia. In it the author describes the

simurgh as strong enough to easily car r y

off an elephant. It is said to lay an egg

once ever y three hundred years.”

URSULA SIMS-WILLIAMS

Curator

328

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MAJMA‘ AL-GHARA‘IB

“COLLECTION

OF RARITIES,” BY SULTAN

MUHAMMAD BALKHI (INDIA, 1698)

British Library

329

A CAPTURED MERMAID

As a bookdealer, apothecary, and spy, Louis Renard

could have very well kept shop in Diagon Alley. In 1719

Renard published the world's first book illustrated in

full color on fishes from the waters of the East Indies.

Renard featured the artwork of Samuel Fallours, a

soldier residing on the Indonesian Island of Ambon.

The book included hand-colored engravings of over

400 exotic fishes and 41 crustaceans, along with 2 stick

insects, a dugong, and a mermaid. Despite the inclusion

of affidavits attesting to the accuracy of the specimens,

the scientific credibility of the work quickly came under

scrutiny. Fallours's artistic license can best be seen at

work in the depiction and description of a mermaid

supposedly caught on the coast of Borné. Measuring 59

inches in length, she reputedly lived in a tank of water

for 4 days and 7 hours and occasionally cried like a

mouse. According to Renard she refused to eat despite

being offered small fishes.

THE MERPEOPLE HAD GRAYISH SKIN AND

LONG, WILD, DARK GREEN HAIR. THEIR EYES

WERE YELLOW, AS WERE THEIR BROKEN

TEETH, AND THEY WORE THICK ROPES OF

PEBBLES AROUND THEIR NECKS.

—HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE

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330

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IMAGE OF A MERMAID, IN LOUIS RENARD,

POISSONS

,

ÉCREVISSES ET CRABES

(AMSTERDAM, 1754)

American Museum of Natural History Library

331

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A MERMAN (JAPAN, 19TH CENTURY)

Horniman Museum and Gardens

A REAL MERMAN?

This merman specimen looks very different from

the stereotypical images familiar to us today. It is an

example of ningyo, a Japanese supernatural creature

of a type that had been displayed in Shinto shrines for

hundreds of years, but was unknown outside Japan

until the 19th century. In 1842, showman P.T. Barnum

began exhibiting a mermaid specimen not unlike this

one, and it caused a sensation. Barnum's mermaid

is now lost, but in the second half of the nineteenth

century many more of these creatures appeared in

collections in Europe and North America. This example,

now kept at the Horniman Museum in London, is one of

several formerly owned by the great British collector

Sir Henry Wellcome, who amassed over a million

objects over the course of his lifetime. Unfortunately,

this particular merman is not real. Extensive scientific

testing has revealed it to be made of various fish

parts—such as the tail from a carp, and the teeth of a

wrasse—bound together with wood, metal,

cloth, and papier-mâché.

332

“WAS THAT A MERMAID?”

This deleted scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of

Secrets shows Harry and Ron crashing their enchanted

Ford Anglia into the lake at Hogwarts instead of

the Whomping Willow. In this version of the story, the

boys are saved by the merpeople, who flip the car over

and drag it to the safety of the bank. The first mermaid

that Harry saw had a lower body that was “a great,

scaly fishtail the colour of gun-metal.” We are told that

the creature's eyes, “flashing in the headlights, looked

dark and threatening.” At the top of page 64, the editor

has written a note questioning this scene, perhaps

prompting the rewriting of the chapter.

“In this draft chapter, one of the mermaids

speaks to Harry and Ron in English,

above the surface of the water. This

contrasts with the later published texts

in which merpeople can only speak

Mermish above water.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

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333

THE DELETED MERPEOPLE SCENE BY J.K.

ROWLING, FROM

HARRY POTTER

AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

Bloomsbury

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334

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335

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336

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337

A GAME BOOK

This “game book,” dating from the early 17th century,

was possibly made as a love token. The parchment

has been folded into a concertina, with each section

depicting an animal. A series of flaps overlays each

portion of the manuscript, and can be opened or closed

to create different types of creature. The game book

includes mythical beasts such as dragons, manticores,

and griffins, which can be transformed using the

features of real animals such as monkeys, snakes,

and lions. This mermaid can be given legs to become

a woman or a man's head to become a fish-man.

Although she appears different from the merpeople at

Hogwarts, she is not to be trusted. The accompanying

poem describes how the mermaid lured sailors, “Who

leaving off their ship were found, On shore, by my

enchantments drown'd.”

THE OLDEST RECORDED MERPEOPLE WERE

KNOWN AS SIRENS (GREECE) AND IT IS

IN WARMER WATERS THAT WE FIND THE

BEAUTIFUL MERMAIDS SO FREQUENTLY

DEPICTED IN MUGGLE LITERATURE AND

PAINTING.

—FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

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338

A GAME BOOK (ENGLAND, 17TH CENTURY)

British Library

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339

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340

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341

THE GRAPHORN

This portrait of the aggressive Graphorn shows a large

humped-back creature, with two horns and a heavy tail.

According to Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and

Where to Find Them, the creature could be found in the

mountainous regions of Europe. Olivia Lomenech Gill's

evocative illustration shows how potentially dangerous

J.K. Rowling's creation could be. The beast is shown

scraping the ground with its “large, four-thumbed feet”

ready to take on anyone foolish enough to stray too

close. The artist has skillfully used highlights of color to

add texture to the Graphorn's gnarled, grayish-purple

skin.

DRAWING OF THE GRAPHORN BY OLIVIA

LOMENECH GILL

Bloomsbury

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342

MOUNTAIN TROLLS CAN

OCCASIONALLY BE SEEN MOUNTED

ON GRAPHORNS, THOUGH THE

LATTER DO NOT SEEM TO TAKE

KINDLY TO ATTEMPTS TO TAME

THEM AND IT IS MORE COMMON

TO SEE A TROLL COVERED IN

GRAPHORN SCARS.

—FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

THE SNALLYGASTER

The Snallygaster is a creature of North American origin,

said to have been named by Dutch settlers in the 1730s.

The creature was added to the 2017 edition of Fantastic

Beasts and Where to Find Them. Half bird, half serpent,

the Snallygaster's name is derived from schnell geiste,

a Pennsylvania Dutch term meaning “quick spirit.”

Despite its status as a mythological creature, numerous

sightings of the flying beast have been reported

in Frederick County, Maryland. Valley Register, a

newspaper in Middletown, featured several stories from

February to March 1909, describing the Snallygaster's

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343

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enormous wings, long sharp beak, and fierce claws. The

next recorded sighting occurred 23 years later. The last

unsuccessful search for the Snallygaster took place in

1976.

DRAWING OF THE SNALLYGASTER

BY OLIVIA LOMENECH GILL

Bloomsbury

JACKET ARTWORK FOR

HARRY POTTER AND

THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX

BY MARY

GRANDPRÉ

Warner Bros.

PLANNING

THE ORDER

OF THE PHOENIX

These plans for the fifth book, The Order of the Phoenix,

show the complexity of the later storylines, and how

they were carefully intertwined. Employing the “series”

method, the charts acted as early plotting aids for the

author, with the titles and ordering of the chapters

varying from the published versions. The plans also

noted the whereabouts of individual characters—for

example, Hagrid is “still with giants” for the first nine

chapters—and the discovery of new information—

Harry is at the Department of Mysteries when he

realizes that prophecies are held there. In these plans,

the secret Defense Against the Dark Arts organization

is called the “Order of the Phoenix,” while the official

resistance is called “Dumbledore's Army.”

PLANS FOR

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER

OF THE PHOENIX

BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

PLANS FOR

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF

THE PHOENIX

BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

351

“IT WAS ABOUT FIVE YEARS

TO FINISH THE FIRST BOOK

AND TO PLOT THE REMAINING

SIX BOOKS, BECAUSE THEY

WERE ALREADY PLOTTED

BEFORE THE FIRST BOOK

WAS PUBLISHED.”

—

J

.K. ROWLING IN CONVERSATION WITH CHRISTOPHER LYDON,

THE CONNECTION, WBUR RADIO, OCTOBER 12, 1999

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

352

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

“THE WARLOCK'S HAIRY HEART”

This is an original handwritten draft of one of the

stories for The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It is one of

four wizarding fairy stories written by J.K. Rowling to

accompany “The Tale of the Three Brothers,” which

Hermione reads aloud to Harry and Ron in Chapter

21 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This draft

outlines the plot and captures the essence of the story,

but it was extended for the published version. The

tale is another example of a wizard attempting to use

Dark Magic to

protect himself

from human

vulnerability. In

the Harry Potter

novels, love has

its own powerful

magic. By rejecting

his heart and

starving it of love,

the warlock's heart

becomes “savage”

and leads him to

tragedy. Professor

Dumbledore notes

that this kind of

Dark Magic would

not be possible

outside of fiction.

DRAFT OF “THE WARLOCK'S

HAIRY HEART” BY J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling

353

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

354

J.K. ROWLING'S ANNOTATED

PHILOSOPHER'S STONE

This unique first edition of Harry Potter and the

Philosopher's Stone, with drawings and annotations

by J.K. Rowling, was sold at a charity auction in aid

of English PEN and Lumos in 2013. Forty-three of the

pages have annotations or illustrations, among them

reflections on and references to the Harry Potter

series and films. In this copy, J.K. Rowling points out

sections of text she refused to cut, and comments on

an anomaly in Chapter 4 relating to snapped wands.

She also describes the circumstances of the invention

of Quidditch. On the first page, under the typeset title

Harry Potter and the Philsopher's Stone, the author has

written the simple words, “changed my life forever.”

“This wonderful treasure contains 21

original illustrations by the author. They

include drawings of a swaddled Harry

Potter on the Dursleys' doorstep, a

menacing Professor Snape, an annotated

sketch of the Hogwarts coat of arms, an

Albus Dumbledore Chocolate Frog Card,

Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback, and

the man with two faces.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

355

HARRY POTTER AND

THE PHILOSOPHER'S

STONE

, ILLUSTRATED

AND ANNOTATED BY

J.K. ROWLING (CA.

2 013)

Private Owner

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

356

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

357

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

FANTASTIC BEASTS AND

WHERE TO FIND THEM

This annotated screenplay of Fantastic Beasts and

Where to Find Them contains J.K. Rowling's additions

in her own handwriting. The screenwriting process is

very different from writing a novel—it can be much

more collaborative and require edits at almost any

stage in the process of filming. The script must be

technically filmable, and so the limits of imagination are

potentially more restricted. Although Fantastic Beasts

was J.K. Rowling's first screenplay, she did not appear

to be confined by this new format. Filmmaker David

Yates has talked about working on this script with her,

describing how the author would rewrite, reinvent, and

add astonishing detail to her characters and world,

with seemingly no limit to her imagination. This draft

represents the skeleton on which the film and the world

of Newt Scamander were based.

“She has so much flowing through her

head.”

David Yates,

on working with J.K. Rowling

358

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

TYPEWRITTEN SCREENPLAY OF

FANTASTIC

BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

BY J.K. ROWLING, WITH AUTOGRAPH

ANNOTATIONS

J.K. Rowling

359

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

THE MACUSA HEADQUARTERS

The Woolworth Building—the setting of the Magical

Congress of the United States in the Fantastic Beasts

movies—was the tallest building in the world when

construction was finished in late 1912. Cass Gilbert, the

architect, designed it in a gothic style that evokes the

great European cathedrals.

Gothic details can be found

not only on the upper

reaches of the skyscraper

where gargoyles tower over

the gables but also in the

lobby where sculptures of

fantastic creatures adorn

the walls. The official

opening of the “Cathedral of

Commerce,” as it was later

called, occurred in April 1913

when President Woodrow

Wilson flipped a switch from

his White House office to

activate the lights in the

Woolworth Building. Electric

lighting was relatively new

at the time and was seen

as a magical technological

wonder.

CASS GILBERT, STUDY

FOR THE WOOLWORTH

BUILDING (New York, 1910)

New-York Historical Society

360

FANTASTIC BEASTS OF NEW YORK

For over a century fantastic beasts have been keeping

an eye on New Yorkers. This chimera—a fire-breathing

monster with a lion's head—is one of eight from

the 24th floor observatory of the Times Tower, the

headquarters of the New York Times. Completed in

1904, the building was located in the heart of Times

Square. In Fantastic Beasts the Square becomes a scene

of chaos when an Obscurus unleashes its dark force

over the city.

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

361

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

EERIE OWLS

If the adventurous and eccentric James Gordon Bennett

Jr.—editor of the New York Herald, America's highest

circulating newspaper at the turn of the 20th century—

had to choose between bringing an owl, a toad, or

a cat to Hogwarts he would have surely selected

the first. Bennett was so obsessed with owls that he

allegedly kept live ones in his office and planned his

own mausoleum in the shape of an owl. In 1893 he

commissioned architects McKim, Mead & White to

design a new headquarters in the style of a 15th century

Venetian palazzo. Bennett specified that the roof ledge

be decorated with four-foot bronze owls, symbols of the

wisdom of the written word. The owls were even fitted

with electric green glass eyes that eerily glowed with

the toll of the building's clocks.

THE WURTS

BROTHERS CO.,

PHOTOGRAPH

OF THE

NEW

YORK HERALD

BUILDING

(NEW YORK,

1921)

New-York Historical

Society

362

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED

CHILD

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling,

Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the

Cursed Child is a play by Jack Thorne, produced by

Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender, and

Harry Potter Theatrical Productions. It had its official

premiere at the Palace Theatre, London, on July 30,

2016, and opened on Broadway in spring 2018 at the

fully renovated Lyric Theatre on 43rd Street. In addition

to receiving the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Play

and the 2018 Tony® Award for Best Play, set designer

Christine Jones was honored with both the Olivier

Award for Best Set Design and the Tony Award for Best

Scenic Design of a Play for her work on the production.

This model for the Broadway production shows an

evocative and flexible set design, which is integral to

the theatrical magic that takes place onstage. Models

such as this one help the creative team to work out the

crucial detail of staging a play—ultimately making Harry

Potter's world come alive before the audience's eyes.

In New York, designers Christine Jones and Brett

J. Banakis had the privilege of not only building Cursed

Child's world on stage, but also the opportunity to

redesign the entire Lyric Theatre, taking inspiration

from the theater's original architecture as well as the

Palace Theatre in London and elements of the set

design itself, creating an entirely immersive experience

from the moment the audience steps through the doors.

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

363

“This set model designed by Christine Jones

and Brett J. Banakis includes steel arches

reminiscent of familiar London train stations.

The versatile set walls have rich wooden

paneling and a beautiful round clock in the

center. This design is rich in symbolism and

Harry Potter heritage.”

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Curator

CHRISTINE JONES PRESENTING THE

HARRY POTTER

AND THE CURSED CHILD

MODEL TO THE ORIGINAL

WEST END COMPANY DURING REHEARSALS

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

364

MODEL DESIGNED BY CHRISTINE JONES WITH BRETT

J. BANAKIS, AND BUILT BY MARY HAMRICK, AMELIA

COOK, ARAM KIM, AND KYLE HILL

LYRIC THEATRE AUDITORIUM DESIGNED BY

CHRISTINE JONES AND BRETT J. BANAKIS,

PROJECT DIRECTED BY GARY BEESTONE

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

365

20 YEARS LATER…

For the 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry

Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the United States,

Scholastic commissioned Brian Selznick—author and

illustrator of Caldecott Medal–winning The Invention of

Hugo Cabret—to reimagine the cover art for the entire

Harry Potter series. Selznick designed the seven covers

as a single image that tells the story of the Boy Who

Lived from his arrival on Privet Drive to the Battle of

Hogwarts. The dynamic cover art is packed with details

including the menacing dementors surrounding Harry's

COVER ART FOR THE HARRY POTTER SERIES

BY BRIAN SELZNICK (2 018)

Brian Selznick

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

366

Patronus; magical creatures like Hedwig, Aragog, and

a centaur; dramatic locations such as the Maze in the

Triwizard Tournament; charmed objects including

Hermione's Time-Turner and Harry's Invisibility Cloak;

and the Hogwarts Express with a new generation of

wizards on board.

COVER ART FOR THE HARRY POTTER SERIES

BY BRIAN SELZNICK (2 018)

Brian Selznick

PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

INDEX OF

EXHIBITS

and

CREDITS

368

INDEX OF EXHIBITS

A

Abracadabra charm 170-171

Album für Teppichgärtnerei und Gruppenbepflanzung

(Möller) 139-140

The Alchemist engraving (Galle) 94

Amulet scrolls 267-268

Animalia nova (von Spix) 304

Apothecary jars 63-64

Apothecary sign 68-69

Aragog 305-306

Astrolabe 185-186

Astronomical Miscellany, An 183

B

Basilisks 256-260

Bezoar stone 79

Book of King Solomon Called The Key of Knowledge,

The 155-156

Book of the Seven Climes (al-Irâqî) 85-86

Brief Description of the Nature of the Basilisk, or

Cockatrice, A (Salgado) 259-260

Broomstick belonging to Olga Hunt 157-158

Buckbeak the hippogriff 309-310
l l l

369

C

Cat, in Historiae animalium (Gessner) 301-302

Catalogus Plantarum Flore 125

Cauldron, exploded 61-62

Centaury 114-116

Charm to turn someone into a lion, a python, or an

eagle 172-173

Compleat History of Druggs, A (Pomet) 76-78

Crystal balls 219-222

Cr ystal Gazing and Clairvoyance (Melville) 217-218

Culpeper's English Physician; and Complete Herbal

(Culpeper) 109-110

Curious Herbal, A (Blackwell) 120-121

D

De laniis et phitonicis mulieribus . . . tractatus

pulcher rimus (Molitor) 65-66

Diagon Alley 145-148

Die Emeis (Geiler) 241-242

Discours d'Ambroise Paré, Conseillier et Premier

Chirurgien du Roy. Asçavoir, de la mumie, de la licorne,

des venins, et de la peste (Paré) 313-314

Discourse of Witchcraft as it was Acted in the Family of

Mr. Edward Fairfax of Fuystone, A 163-164

Doll, fortune-telling 228-229

Dragons 294-296

Dragon eggs 296

Du Cao 128-129
l l l

370

Dumbledore, Professor Albus 48-50, 237-238

Dunhuang Star Atlas 181-182

Dursleys 38-39

E

Ethiopian magical recipe book 269-271

F

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) 357-358

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Lomenech

Gill) 341-343

Filch, Argus 153-154

Flamel, Nicolas 87-91

Fluffy 97-100

G

Game book 337-340

Gardening implements 111-113

Gargoyle sculpture 360

Globe, celestial 187-188

Gnomes 139-142

GrandPré, Mary 147, 151, 254-255, 263, 288, 346-347

Granger, Hermione73-75, 97-98

Graphorn 341

Gringotts bank 278-279, 291-293
l l

371

H

Hagrid, Rubeus 145-147, 237-238, 274-275, 278-279

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 256-257, 332-336

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child 362-364

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 254-255, 291-293

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 73-75

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 346-351

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone 33-35,

36-37, 40-42, 43-45, 97-103, 145-148, 159-160, 237-238,

249-253, 278-285, 354-356

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 309-310

Herb grinder 72

Herball or Generall historie of plantes,

The (Gerard) 122-123

Herbals 109-110, 114-116, 117-131

Hercules and Cerberus (Sadeler) 95

Hippogriffs 309-312

Histoire Générale des Drogues, Traitant des Plantes, des

Animaux et des Minéraux (Pomet) 318

Historia animalium 257-258

Historiæ animalium (Gessner) 301-302

Historie of Foure-Footed Beastes, The (Topsell) 261-262

History of the Lancashire Witches, The 165-166

Hogwarts grounds 46-47

Hogwarts greenhouse 106-107

Hogwarts subjects and teachers 178-180

Hortus Eystettensis (Besler) 126-127

How to Read the Future with Tea Leaves 233-234
l l l

372

I

Illustrated Herbal (Cadamosto) 134-135

K

Kappa 264-266

Kay, Jim 30-32, 43-45, 48-52, 58-60, 64, 99, 106-107, 138,

142, 148, 159-162, 203-204, 239-240, 256, 274-275, 286,

296, 305-306, 309-310, 321-322

Kitâb Mawâdd Al-‘Ilâj

136-137

L

Leonardo da Vinci's notebook 193-194

Levine, Arthur 40-42

L'Histoire et description du Phoenix (de la Garde) 325-326

Liber medicinalis 170-171

Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri accurata

descriptio, et inconibus artificiosissimis expressio, per

universam physices historiam (Seba) 247-248

Lomenech Gill, Olivia 341-343

Longbottom, Neville 97-98

Love charm 174-175

Lupin, Professor Remus 239-240
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373

M

Magic of Jewels & Charms, The (Kunz) 220

Majma' al-Ghara'ib “Collection of Rarities” 327-328

Malfoy, Draco 161-162

Mandrakes 133-138

McGonagall, Professor Minerva 51-52, 237-238

Merman specimen 331

Mermen and mermaids 329-340

Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium

(Merian) 307-308

Mirror, wooden witch's 209-210

Mortar and pestle 70-71

Mundus Subter raneus (Kircher) 276-277

N

Narwhal tusk 315-316

Nearly Headless Nick 289

New York Herald Building 361

O

Old Egyptian Fortune-Teller's Last Legacy, The 227-228

On the Properties of Animals (Philes) 319-320

Oracle bones 205-206

Orlando Furioso (Ariosto) 311-312

Orrery 189-190

Ortus Sanitatis (Meydenbach) 67

Owls 297-300
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3 74

P

Palmistry hand 225-226

Peeves the Poltergeist 290

Phoenixes 321-326

Platform Nine and Three-Quarters 43-44

Poissons, Écrevisses et Crabes (Renard) 329-330

Potion bottles 64

Potter, Harry 33-35, 38-39, 43-45, 73-75, 97-98, 101-103,

147, 161-162, 237-238, 256, 278-279

Q

Quirrell, Professor Quirinus 101-103

R

Reader's report on Harr y Potter and the Philosopher's

Stone 36-37

Reading the Hands, in a Fortune-telling

Manuscript 223-224

Restricted Section 263

Ring captioned “May something never happen as long

as this remains buried” 169

Ripley Scroll 80-81

Rowling, J.K. 33-35, 38-39, 46-47, 53-54, 73-75, 97-98,

101-103, 108, 145-146, 149-150, 152, 153-154, 178-180,

237-238, 249-253, 278-285, 289-290, 291-293, 332-336, 346-

351, 352-353, 354-356, 357-358

Runes 55
l l

375

S

Seafarer's Navigation Notebook 198-200

Selznick, Brian 365-366

Serpent staff 244

Serpentum et Draconum (Aldrovandi) 294-295

Simurgh, an Iranian Thunderbird 327-328

Snake charmer in a bestiary 245-246

Snakeroot 117-119

Snallygaster 342-343

Snape, Professor Severus 58-60

Snowy Owl (Audubon) 297-298

Sorting Hat 149-152

Sphinx 261-262

Spiders 305-308

Splendor Solis 83-84

Sprout, Professor Pomona 108

T

Tabulæ Rudolphinæ (Kepler) 191-192

Tales of Beedle the Bard, The 53-54, 352-353

Tarot cards 211-213

Tea cup, fortune-telling 230-231

Tea Cup Reading: How to Tell Fortunes by Tea Leaves (A

Highland Seer) 232

Temple of Flora, The (Thornton) 130-131

Thai divination manual (phrommachat) 214-216

Thomas, Dean (formerly “Gary”) 97-98

Toad 303-304
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376

Tombstone (of Nicolas Flamel) 90

Tonegawa Zushi (Sôtan) 264-266

Trelawney, Professor Sybill 203-204

Trolls 286-288

U

Unicorns 68-69, 313-314, 317-320

Uraltes Chymisches Werck (Eleazaris) 92

Urania's Mir ror; or a View of the Heavens 195-197

W

Wand shaped like a snake 243

Weasley, Ron 73-75, 97-98

Werewolf 241-242

Winged keys 159-160

Wonder of the Invisible World, The (Mather) 167-168

Wonders!!! Past, Present, and to come; being the strange

prophecies and uncommon predictions of the famous

Mother Shipton 207-208

Woolworth Building pencil study (Gillbert) 359
l l l

377

ABOUT J.K. ROWLING

J.K. Rowling is the author of the record-breaking,

multi-award-winning Harry Potter novels. Loved by

fans around the world, the series has sold over 500

million copies, been translated into over 80 languages,

and made into 8 blockbuster films. She has written

three companion volumes in aid of charity: Quidditch

Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to

Find Them (in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos), and The

Tales of Beedle the Bard (in aid of Lumos), as well as a

screenplay inspired by Fantastic Beasts and Where to

Find Them, which marked the start of a five-film series

to be written by the author. She has also collaborated

on a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts

One and Two, which opened in London's West End in

the summer of 2016 and on Broadway in spring 2018.

In 2012, J.K. Rowling's digital company Pottermore was

launched, where fans can enjoy news, features, and

articles, as well as original content from J.K. Rowling.

She is also the author of The Casual Vacancy, a novel for

adult readers, and the Strike crime series, written under

the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. She has received

many awards and honors, including an OBE and

Companion of Honour, France's Légion d'honneur, and

the Hans Christian Andersen Award.

378

379

THE CURATORS

JULIAN HARRISON

Julian Harrison is the lead curator of the

British Library exhibition Harry Potter:

A History of Magic. He is a specialist on

medieval and early modern manuscripts,

and previously curated major exhibitions

on Magna Carta (The British Library, 2015)

and William Shakespeare (The Library of

Birmingham, 2016). He writes for and edits

the British Library's Medieval Manuscripts

Blog, which was named UK Arts and

Culture Blog of the Year in 2014.

ALEXANDER LOCK

Alexander Lock is Curator of Modern

Archives and Manuscripts at the British

Library and cocurator of the exhibition

Harry Potter: A Histor y of Magic. He

is a specialist of modern historical

manuscripts and was lead researcher for

the exhibition Magna Carta: Law, Liberty,

Legacy (The British Library, 2015). His

most recent book, Catholicism, Identity and

Politics in the Age of Enlightenment, was

published by Boydell and Brewer in 2016.

380

TANYA KIRK

Tanya Kirk is the British Library's Lead

Curator of Printed Heritage Collections,

1601–1900, and a cocurator of Harry Potter:

A History of Magic. She is a specialist in

rare books and English Literature and has

curated six literary exhibitions, including

Shakespeare in Ten Acts (2016) and Ter ror

and Wonder: The Gothic Imagination

(2014/15). She is the editor of two

collections of ghost stories, The Haunted

Librar y (2016), and Spirits of the Season

(2018). Like Dumbledore, she is very fond

of knitting patterns.

JOANNA NORLEDGE

Joanna Norledge is Lead Curator of

Contemporary Literary and Creative

Archives and cocurator of the British

Library exhibition Harry Potter: A History

of Magic. She is a trained archivist and

specialist in literary and theatrical

archives at the British Library.

381

MARGARET K. HOFER

Margaret K. Hofer is Vice President

and Museum Director at the New-York

Historical Society, and project director

for its presentation of Harry Potter: A

History of Magic. As the Historical Society's

decorative arts curator for more than

two decades, Margi curated numerous

exhibitions, including Making It Modern:

The Folk Art Collection of Elie and Viola

Nadelman (2016), Stories in Sterling: Four

Centuries of Silver in New York (2011), and

A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and

the Tiffany Girls (2007).

CRISTIAN PETRU PANAITE

Cristian Petru Panaite is Assistant Curator

of Exhibitions at the New-York Historical

Society, and coordinating curator for its

presentation of Harry Potter: A History of

Magic. An interdisciplinary humanities

scholar, he most recently curated the

major retrospective exhibition Tattooed

New York (2017) and co-curated Rebel

Spirits: Robert F. Kennedy and Martin

Luther King Jr. (2018).

382

THE BRITISH LIBRARY

The British Library is the national library of the United

Kingdom and one of the world's greatest research

libraries. The library's collection has developed over

250 years—it exceeds 150 million separate items

representing every age of written civilization. Its vast

archive includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps,

stamps, music, patents, photographs, newspapers,

and sound recordings in all written and spoken

languages. Among the greatest treasures in the library's

collection are two copies of Magna Carta from 1215,

the Lindisfarne Gospels, Leonardo da Vinci's notebook,

the first edition of The Times from March 18, 1788,

manuscripts of

the Beatles' song

lyrics, and the

recording of Nelson

Mandela's speech

given at his trial.

The oldest items

in the collection

are Chinese oracle

bones that date

back over 3,000

years—the most

recent are today's

newspapers and

websites.

383

THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL

SOCIETY

The New-York Historical Society, founded in 1804, is

dedicated to revealing the dynamism of American

history and its influence on the world today through

exhibitions, public programs, online outreach, and

research. As New York's oldest museum and an

internationally renowned research library, New-York

Historical is a preeminent center for new humanities

scholarship and leading provider of lifelong history

education. Its holdings include 14 million documents,

works of art, artifacts, and ephemera that span four

centuries of American history and comprise one of the

world's greatest collections documenting the history,

culture, diversity, and continuing evolution of New

York and the nation. Museum collections highlights

384

include: John James Audubon's 435 unique watercolors

for The Birds of America; renowned Hudson River

School landscapes; and one of the most comprehensive

collections of Tiffany lamps in the world. Artifacts

relating to New York's participation in local and global

events, among them the slave trade, the American

Revolution, and the terrorist attacks on the World

Trade Center, chronicle the history of New York and

the nation. One of only 20 members of the Independent

Research Libraries Association, New-York Historical's

Library collections are strong in colonial history;

the Revolutionary War; American military and naval

history; the Anglo-American slave trade and conditions

of slavery in the United States; the Civil War; and

American biography and genealogy. In 2015, New-York

Historical dramatically enhanced its holdings with the

acquisition of the complete institutional archives of

Time, Inc.—an extraordinary record of the 20th century.

385

PICTURE CREDITS

Items on pages 33-34, 38, 46, 74-75, 98, 102-

103, 108, 150, 152, 153, 179-180, 238, 250-

253, 279, 281-285, 289, 290, 292-293, 333-

336, 347-350, 352-353, 358 © J.K. Rowling

llustrations by Jim Kay on pages 28, 30,

44-45, 50, 51, 58, 60, 64, 99, 106, 138, 142,

148, 159-160, 162, 204, 240, 256, 275, 286,

296, 306, 310, 321 © 2015-2017 by Blooms-

bury Publishing PLC

Illustrations by Mary GrandPré on pages

147, 151, 263, 288 © 2001 by Scholastic Inc.

37 © Alice Newton-Rex

40-41 © Scholastic Inc.

55 The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic,

Boscastle, Cornwall

54 Private Collection. Photo courtesy

Sotheby's

62 The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic,

Boscastle, Cornwall. Photo © Sara

Hannant

63 Science Museum/Wellcome Images

68 Science Museum/Wellcome Images

71 New-York Historical Society, Gift of

Mr. F. Huntington Babcock, 1960.86.ab

72 New-York Historical Society, Purchased

from Elie Nadelman, 1937.1553ab

79 © Science Museum/Science & Society

Picture Library

80-81 General Collection, Beinecke Rare

Book and Manuscript Library, Yale

University

90 Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (musée de

Cluny—musée national du Moyen Âge)/

Gérard Blot

94 Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926

95 Metropolitan Museum of Art, The

Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha

Whittelsey Fund, 1949; Image, Art

Resource, NY

111 The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic,

Boscastle, Cornwall

125, 126, 131, 139-140 The LuEsther T.

Mertz Library of The New York Botanical

Garden

132 © Science Museum/Science & Society

Picture Library

158 The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic,

Boscastle, Cornwall

167 New-York Historical Society Library

143, 175 The Museum of Witchcraft and

Magic, Boscastle, Cornwall

186 Image no.100234560_1, The Bliss

Collection. Photo, Kendra Meyers,

American Museum of Natural History

Library

188 General Collection, Beinecke Rare

Book and Manuscript Library,

Yale University

190 © Science Museum/Science & Society

Picture Library

176, 199, 200 New-York Historical Society,

The Naval Historical Society Collection

206 Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of A.

W. Bahr, 1923

210 The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic,

Boscastle, Cornwall

211-213 New-York Historical Society Libra-

ry, Playing Card and Game Collection

219 The Museum of Witchcraft and

Magic, Boscastle, Cornwall. Photo

©

Sara Hannant

220 New-York Historical Society Library

222 The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic,

Boscastle, Cornwall
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386

226 The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic,

Boscastle, Cornwall. Photo © Sara

Hannant

229 New-York Historical Society, Z.393

230, 231 The Museum of Witchcraft and

Magic, Boscastle, Cornwall

243, 244 The Museum of Witchcraft and

Magic, Boscastle, Cornwall

254, 255 Illustration by Mary GrandPré

©

©

2007 by Warner Bros.

277 Image no. 100066420_1. Photo,

Kendra Meyers, American Museum

of Natural History Library

298 New-York Historical Society,

Purchased for the Society by public

subscription from Mrs. John J. Audubon,

1863.17.121. Digital image created by

Oppenheimer Editions.

299 (left) New-York Historical Society, Gift

of Nathaniel H. Bishop, 1889.10.3.43

299 (right) New-York Historical Society,

Gift of Nathaniel H. Bishop, 1889.10.3.42

300 (left) New-York Historical Society, Gift

of Nathaniel H. Bishop, 1889.10.3.47

300 (right) New-York Historical Society,

Gift of Nathaniel H. Bishop, 1889.10.3.37

308 Image no. 100060520_1; photo, Ken-

dra Meyers, American Museum of Natural

History Library

316 The Explorers Club Research

Collections, Gift of Col. Stanwell-Fletcher,

ca. 1950; photography by Jess Tice-Gilbert

330 Image no. 100169955_6; photo,

Kendra Meyers, American Museum

of Natural History Library

331 Horniman Museum and Gardens.

NH.82.5.223

341, 343 Illustrations by Olivia Lomenech

Gill © 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

346-347 Illustration by Mary GrandPré

©

2003 by Warner Bros.

355-356 Private Collection

358 Photography by www.studio68b.com

359 New-York Historical Society, Cass

Gilbert Architectural Record Collection

360 New-York Historical Society, Gift of the

New York Times

361 New-York Historical Society Library;

photography by the Wurts Brothers Co.

363 Photography by Manuel Harlan

364 (bottom) Lyric Theatre, an

Ambassador Theatre Group venue.

Photography by Manuel Harlan

364 (top) Photography by Matthew

Murphy

344, 365-366 Illustration by Brian Selznick

©

2018 by Scholastic Inc.

378 Photography by Debra Hurford Brown

©

2014 by J.K. Rowling

380 Joanna Norledge photo by Tony

Antoniou

381 Margaret K. Hofer photo by Colin

Cooke; Cristian Petru Panaite photo by

Don Pollard

383 New-York Historical Society photo by

Jon Wallen

All New-York Historical Society

photography by Glenn Castellano

unless otherwise noted.
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387

BRITISH LIBRARY SHELFMARKS

65 IA.5209

67 IB.344

76 7511.c.30

84 Harley MS 3469, f. 4r

86 Additional MS 25724, f. 50v

89 Additional MS 17910, ff. 13v–14r

92 8905.a.15

110 1601/42

115-116 Harley MS 5294, ff. 21v–22r

118-119 Sloane MS 4016, ff. 37v–38r

121 452.f. 2

123 449.K.4(2)

128 Or.13347B, ff. 6v–7r

135 Harley MS 3736, ff. 58v–59r

137 Or.3366, f. 144v

156 Additional MS 36674, f. 10r

164 Additional MS 32496, f. 49r

166 1078.i.25.(5.)

169 Papyrus 46 (5)

171 Royal MS 12 E XXIII, f. 20r

173 Or 11390, between ff.6-7

181-182 Or.8210/S.3326

183 Cotton MS Tiberius C I, f. 28r

192 48.f. 7

194 Arundel MS 263, f. 104r + f. 107v

196-197 Maps C.44.a.42.(2.)

207 117.d.44.(2.)

215-216 Or.4830, ff. 20–21

218 YA.1988.a.9195

223-224 Royal MS 12 C XII, ff. 106v–107r

228 C.194.a.825.(2.)

232 8633.c.9

233 8633.eee.31

242 3835.c.26

246 Royal MS 12 C XIX, f. 67r

247 43.k.3–10

258 Additional MS 82955, f. 129r

260 1256.d.9

262 435.h.6

264-265 16084.d.15

267 Or.12859

268 Or.9178

270-271 Or.11390, ff. 57v–58r

294 38.g.10

302 460.c.1

304 505.ff. 16

312 C.7.d.7

314 461.b.11.(1.)

318 37.h.7

320 Burney MS 97, f. 18r

324 Harley MS 4751, f. 45r

326 G.10992

328 Additional MS 15241, f. 64r

338-340 Additional MS 57312
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388

THANK YOU

With thanks to J.K. Rowling for the use of items from

her personal collection; Jim Kay, Mary GrandPré, Brian

Selznick, and Olivia Lomenech Gill for allowing us to

use their artwork; Emily Clement, David Saylor, Gabriel

Rumbaut, and Joe Romano from Scholastic; Robert

Davies, Abbie Day, and Sally Nicholls from British

Library Publishing; Dayna Bealy, Eleanor Gillers, Jill

Reichenbach, and Glenn Castellano from the New-York

Historical Society; and Ross Fraser from The Blair

Partnership.

This book was designed by Rodrigo Corral Studio.

The type was set in ITC Cheltenham, designed by Tony

Stan. The display type was set in Windsor, created by

Eleisha Pechey.

ALSO FROM POTTERMORE PUBLISHING

EBOOKS

THE HARRY POTTER SERIES

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

HOGWARTS LIBRARY BOOKS

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Quidditch Through the Ages

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

ILLUSTRATED EDITIONS

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:

Illustrated Edition [Kindle in Motion]

Illustrated by Jim Kay

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:

Illustrated Edition [Kindle in Motion]

Illustrated by Olivia Lomenech Gill

HARRY POTTER: A HISTORY OF MAGIC

Harry Potter: A Journey Through A History of Magic

PLAYSCRIPTS AND SCREENPLAYS

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two:

The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production

Based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne

A play by Jack Thorne

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:

The Original Screenplay

POTTERMORE PRESENTS

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism,

Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies

Short Stories from Hogwarts of Power,

Politics and Pesky Poltergeists

Hogwarts: An Incomplete and Unreliable Guide

AUDIOBOOKS

THE HARRY POTTER SERIES

Read by Jim Dale

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

HOGWARTS LIBRARY BOOKS

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Read by Eddie Redmayne

Quidditch Through the Ages

Read by Andrew Lincoln

HARRY POTTER: A HISTORY OF MAGIC

Harry Potter: A History of Magic

Narrated by Natalie Dormer

This digital edition first published

by Pottermore Publishing in 2018

First published in print in 2018 by Arthur A. Levine Books,

an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

This book is based on the British Library exhibition

at the New-York Historical Society,

Harry Potter: A History of Magic.

J.K. Rowling illustrations, images, manuscript pages

and Harry Potter quotes © J.K. Rowling

Foreword © 2018 by Louise Mirrer

Introduction by Julian Harrison © 2018 by British Library Board

Text © British Library Board

Text on pages 42, 70, 93, 96, 124, 141, 168, 185, 187, 198, 205, 211-

212, 220, 228-229, 254, 263, 297, 299, 315, 329, 359-361, 365-366

©

2018 by New-York Historical Society

British Library images © British Library Board

See also picture credits on page 385

Digital edition design © Pottermore Publishing 2018

Digital edition development: Nord Compo

The moral rights of the author, contributors

and illustrators have been asserted

Wizarding World is a trademark of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Wizarding World publishing rights © J.K. Rowling

Wizarding World characters, names, and related indicia are TM

and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be

reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic,

mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without

the prior permission of the publisher

ISBN 978-1-78110-259-6
l