UPDATE: It has now been revealed that Amazon.com bought this book, and will be adding pictures and reviews of each of the fairy tales soon. The permanent link will eventually redirect to http://www.amazon.com/beedlebard. The note already contains several high-quality pictures and a video reading the note from JK Rowling inside the cover, and reveals that the book is 157 handwritten pages. Amazon.com editors are now taking questions about the tales on the site's discussion boards.
Amazon has said it won't be publishing the book unless JK Rowling decides to do so, but it will be taking the book on tour to schools and libraries so children can see it themselves. (This was posted in their message boards.)
Our previous article of today's events is below:
The auction for The Tales of Beedle the Bard, JK Rowling's original, handwritten book of wizarding fairy tales, just happened at Sotheby's in London, and the lucky winner walked away with the item for the bargain price of 1,950,000 pounds, or nearly $4 million.
In a Sotheby's release, the auction house said that this is the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by JK Rowling and indeed for any children’s book - it is also the highest price ever paid at auction for any modern literary manuscript.
It was a highly contested match between six bidders; the winner was a representative of London fine art dealer Hazlitt Gooden & Fox.
J.K. Rowling said of the sale, "I am stunned and ecstatic. This will mean so much to children in desperate need of help. It means Christmas has come early for me.”
The copy was one of seven handwritten editions and the only one to be made available for sale publicly. The other six have gone to six people instrumental to Harry since his inception. The leatherbound, handwritten tome was encrusted moonstones, as would be representative of "mothers, lovers and the power of dreams." All proceeds will benefit The Children's Voice Campaign charity, instituted by J.K. Rowling, which goes to help aid children who most need an advocate in the world.
In the release, Dr. Philip Errington, Deputy Director, Sotheby’s Books and Manuscripts department said: “Sotheby’s has been thrilled to work with JK Rowling and The Children’s Voice in selling this wonderful manuscript. This is one of the most exciting pieces of children’s literature to have passed through Sotheby’s. We have to reach back 80 years to find a comparison when we sold the manuscript of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on behalf of the original Alice.”
In addition a set of signed Comic Relief books went for 1,125 GBP, and an original drawing of the main Harry Potter characters was sold for 34,100 GBP (or three times what was expected).
Also, a Reuters video from the reception, with glimpses of Evanna Lynch and Bonnie Wright in the crowd, may be seen here.
Even if the book would’ve make more $ by it being available to the public, we have to remember that this book came from the idea of honoring 6 special people that JKR felt that deserved something special. It HAPPENS that she did an extra. We wouldn’t have seen them anyway. So, I’m ok with this, although, of course, I would’ve love to read it.
Feorge, I saw the comments over at Amazon.com, and I totally agree with you.
The book is soooo beautiful!
I was so happy to see Bonnie and Evanna in the auction! =)
Incredible. This was really great of Amazon to do that, I can think of no other organization who could possibly plan on a tour of the book other than them. I’m so happy it’s Amazon because they will share it with all of us fans :) This is really great for Children’s Voice !
To all of those who all of a sudden want to send their résumé : I don’t think Amazon puts the copy they have on a mere table for everyone to touch it and possibly steal it or spoil it, they probably keep it in a safe vault somewhere, waiting for the tour.
It does look quite beautiful. I agree with budb and roonwit that mass publishing the book will not affect value of these handwritten copies and we can expect to see it sometime. Also agree we have no right to expect it. I’m convinced we will though. I like that Amazon are touring it (US/UK or both?) for people to see. What will they do with it afterwards I wonder?
I am so happy Jo’s charity will get that huge sum of money and that the purchaser knows how to share. :) Remember the auction with the secret words from OotP? I feared Beedle would vanish into obscurity like that. I’m pleased to have been wrong!
I have just been on the Amazon site and the review and photos are amazing. I am so pleased that a huge corporation has had the vision to consider sharing this with everyone but don’t read the reviews and posts unless you really want to be upset…. these extremely sad people are making terrible comments about Jo and Amazon. I just hope she hasn’t read them…
AWESOME!!! Whatever charity or charities got that money are pretty lucky. 4 million dollars is alot of freakin’ money! I’m shocked to find out that Amazon.com is the one who bought the book. Does that mean they can make copies of it and sale them, since they now own a copy??
This "huge corporation" has its main obligation to its shareholders -not to us.
The only way that “Beedle” is ever going to be published is for Rowling and the publishers to be shamed into it.. Those who betray deserve what they get…...
Way to go Amazon… that is a FANTASTIC way of saying “thank you” to Ms. Rowling, AND using it for your own “charity” of setting out to share this with children. Harry Potter has encouraged millions of children to read… I wonder how many children will be inspired to WRITE if they see a handwritten book such as this one.
Oh, and HOW LUCKY for the employees who get to review this book!!!! I wonder if the book is in Seattle…
I also wonder how great their security is… HA…. just kidding. But that book may only be 50 minutes away from me.
If i had $4 million, i would have bought it !!!!!!
I WANT IT NOW !!!!!!!
JK is the best and whatever she writes is and is gonna be great !!!!
Posted by Hermione_Potter on December 15, 2007, 02:27 PM
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What a wonderful Christmas present it would be for Harry Potter fans worldwide and for any charities so named if Rowling would work with Amazon.com and allow them to publish the book and work out an arrangement as to what percentage would go to charity. Unlike a publisher that would be selling it through bookstores and independent stores and having to give discounts up to 55%, Amazon could publish it and offer NO discount, since most of the money would be going to charity. To spice it up, Rowling could hand-sign a certain number of copies that would be randomly shipped out to customers worldwide.
Amazon, after all, is set up to sell worldwide through its various websites.
I have a copy of the Sotheby’s catalog and see that the charity in question is The Children’s Voice. So $4 million USD was raised by the sale of this book. I would estimate that $20+ million could be raised by selling copies of a mass market edition. Of course, it’s nice that fans and readers would be able to read a copy, but the important thing here is that no one is asking Rowling to write a check; instead, Amazon.com would be asking permission to publish the book, in a new economic model.
If this is hugely successful, it would prompt Amazon.com to do this with other authors for other charities, and we’d all benefit: We are, after all, all citizens of the world.
So, what do you guys think? How many of you out there would want to make a contribution to charity via buying a copy of the book from Amazon.com?
So we get to hear the stories anyhow? I’m very happy Amazon bought it then! Bet I’m not half as happy as all those children it will help though… Awww, it makes me very happy! w
Amazon.com is currently publishing a synopsis of each story; they are NOT, however, publishing them because they don’t have the legal right to do so. The rights to publish the stories remain with JK Rowling.
I am only SUGGESTING a course of action, that it would be a good thing for everybody IF JK Rowling allowed the book’s publication through Amazon.com. As for whether Rowling will permit its publication, under any conditions, no one can say for sure. All we can do is wait and see.
The school nurse had seen what Aunt Petunia's eyes -- so sharp when it came to spotting fingerprints on her gleaming walls, and in observing the comings and goings of the neighbors -- simply refused to see: that far from needing extra nourishment, Dudley
Even if the book would’ve make more $ by it being available to the public, we have to remember that this book came from the idea of honoring 6 special people that JKR felt that deserved something special. It HAPPENS that she did an extra. We wouldn’t have seen them anyway. So, I’m ok with this, although, of course, I would’ve love to read it.