JK
Rowling's Bard Sell's for $3.9 Million
12/14/07
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has helped to raise $3.9 million
(£1.95 million) for charity after a rare copy of her latest book sold at
a London auction for 40 times its estimated price.
The Tales of Beedle The Bard - first mentioned in Harry Potter And The
Deathly Hallows - is a hand-written and illustrated book of tales relating
to the boy wizard's final adventures.
Only seven copies of the book are in existence - six of them were
handed out by Rowling as gifts to those "most closely connected"
to the Potter series since its conception, while one was put up for
auction on Thursday (13Dec07) to help raise money for her Children's Voice
charity.
The rare book - the only one bound in brown morocco leather and mounted
with silver and semi-precious stones - was sold to an anonymous bidder
after going under the hammer at Sotheby's auction house. It was originally
valued at between $60,000 to $100,000.
Speaking after the sale, Rowling said: "I'm stunned and ecstatic.
Christmas has come early for me."
Rowling founded Children's Voice in 2005 with the aim of improving the
rights of European children.