Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling with The Tales of Beedle the Bard in 2008.Photo: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images. This is where the magic happened—literally. The chair that J.K. Rowling sat in to write the first two entries in the beloved Harry Potter series, which features hand-painted embellishments by the author herself, is hitting the auction block at Heritage Auctions New York this month. While Rowling is known the world over for creating Harry Potter, even die-hard fans might not know that the author is also quite artistic. Her original manuscript for the first book was accompanied with her own hand-drawn illustrations. Rowling’s drawings finally made it to prime time with the 2008 publication of the storybook Tales of Beedle the Bard, a short spin-off of the final entry in the original series that was produced in three editions, including seven handmade copies. In 2002, Rowling hand-painted the chair for Christie’s “Chair-ish a Child” charity auction organized to benefit the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
It was purchased by Miles Apthrop $21,000. Since then, the chair has changed hands only once, selling for $29,000 on eBay in 2009. Among the phrases painted on the chair in shades of gold, green, and rose is “O you may not find me pretty, but don’t judge on what you see,” the opening lines sung in the first Harry Potter book by the grubby-looking Sorting Hat, which places Hogwarts students in Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. Rowling emblazoned “I wrote Harry Potter while sitting on this chair” along the sides and front of the seat, and the word “Gryffindor” on the cross-stretcher below. The chair also features lightning bolts and the author’s signature. “This is not just a chair. It’s a work of art,” said Heritage pubic relations director Noah Fleisher in a video promoting the upcoming sale. “It’s a piece of pop culture memorabilia, it’s a piece of writing history, and it deserves to be enshrined in somebody’s home, or in a museum.”
The chair comes with a hand-signed letter from the author attesting to the chair’s authenticity. A stamp across the top indicates the missive was mailed by “owl post”—the preferred form of communication in the wizarding world. The author explains that the chair was the comfiest of the four mismatched dining room chairs given to her in 1995, and thus became “stationed permanently in front of my typewriter” during the writing of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (changed to Sorcerer’s Stone for the US edition) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. “My nostalgic side is quite sad to see it go,” admitted Rowling, “but my back isn’t.” Heritage will begin accepting online bids for the chair on March 18, in the “Rare Books Signature” sale, which will run through April 6. The auction house has not released a pre-estimate, but the bidding will open at $45,000. “Rowling transformed this ordinary piece of furniture into a work of literary art,” said James Gannon, Heritage’s director of rare books, in a statement.
“It lives now as a powerful, tangible symbol of her determination and incredible imagination. She started in this chair as an impoverished woman and mother with a dream and rose from it as a giant of modern fiction.” Follow artnet News on Facebook. DIY Dining Room Chair Set from Mismatched Thrifted Chairs What do you do when you have a small budget and can't afford to spend $200 apiece on dining room chairs? Upcycle several different thrifted chairs into a unique set with a little paint and some new fabric! paint sprayer (if you have one! If not, a brush will work just as well) fabric (about 1/2 yard per chair) 1. Purchase chairs at a thrift store. Look for chairs with solid construction, and be sure to check underneath the seat to make sure you can remove the upholstered seat easily. Then, remove the upholstered seats by unscrewing the screws at each corner of the seat. Save those screws for later! 2. Sand the chairs well using a sanding block. The key here is to remove any glossiness so that the paint adheres well.
Rough it up, but don't worry about completely stripping the paint. 3. Paint the chairs. To unify these different thrift store paint, we painted them all the same color: white. So even though they don't match each other exactly, painting them the same color will definitely make them look like a part of a set. We prefer using a paint sprayer for chairs like these, but if you don't have one, a brush and mini roller will work just as well! Be sure to use a paint plus primer to cut down on extra time painting. Even so, prepare to do a couple of even coats for full coverage! 4. While the paint dries, lay the seat upside down on your fabric. We are loving up the look of our white chairs paired with faux leather! Cut the fabric so that you have about 1-2 inches of overlap all the way around the seat. Beginning on one side, pull the fabric tight towards the center of the seat and staple into place. Continue pulling tight and stapling until you come to a corner. Take the corner of the fabric and fold it in towards the center of the seat.
Overlap the side flap and staple. 5. Re-attach the newly upholstered seats to the chair frames with the screws you saved. Step back and gaze lovingly at the chairs that saved you big bucks and add a bit of spunk to your dining room! For more details on this project or other projects from this episode, visit Monica and Jess' blog East Coast Creative. Photos: DIY Concrete Table Before and After Photos: Small Galley Kitchen Hair Botox: Before and After Photos Behind-the-Scenes Photos: Pirate-Themed Room Photos: DIY Faux Crown Molding 70s Basement to Man CaveWe recently built a table for my dining room. I love it and will be sharing about that soon, but first let's talk about these yellow chairs! We chose to build a dining room table that seats eight, because we often have a very full house with friends and co-workers. I wasn't ready to commit to eight matching chairs so I decided to collect mismatched chairs and paint them all the same color. Collecting the chairs was fun.
I spent a week or so hunting them down from local flea markets and thrifts. I chose anything that was sturdy, had a good shape and only had seats that could be reupholstered (if any at all).To paint the chairs, I started with a base coat of Kilz Odorless Interior Oil Based Sealer Primer. I have used this primer for quite a few recent projects including our kitchen cabinets and my cocktail cart. For the top coat I used Rust-Oleum Safety Yellow. The color is a bright primary yellow and I absolutely love it! Painting eight chairs is no small task. I actually had two friends helping me (thank you Mallory + Emma!) and it still took about five days for us to complete them (so. many. coats.) Three of the seats needed to be reupholstered. We simply unscrewed them and attached new fabric to each seat by stapling it underneath with a staple gun. I am so happy with the chairs we have! I love that they don't match and I enjoy the pop of color they add to our dining room. What do you think about mismatched furniture?