Extremely rare Harry Potter item sells for a record-breaking £1,500,000 at auction-Robert Oliver-Entertainment – Metro

It’s the most expensive Harry Potter item ever sold (Picture: Warner Bros.)

A rare piece of artwork has just become the most valuable Harry Potter item ever to be sold after fetching £1.5 million ($1.9 million) at a recent US auction.

The item sold was an original watercolour piece that provided the front cover for the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published in 1997.

Illustrator Thomas Taylor was only 23 years old when he painted the now iconic image of Harry arriving at King’s Cross, standing in front of the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9¾.

It was first auctioned over 20 years ago in 2001, the year that the first Harry Potter film was released – at that time, it fetched just over £85,000 (£155,000 adjusted for inflation).

But with Harry Potter now one of the biggest media franchises in the world – with a new TV show on the horizon – that price has only gone up in the last two decades.

It was expected to fetch somewhere between £300,000 and £500,000 ($379,000 and $630,000), but Sotheby’s auction house said was the highest price ever estimated for a Harry Potter item.

The original watercolour painting sold for £1.5m at an auction in the US (Picture: Sotheby’s/PA Wire)

But during the auction, the price quickly went past estimates and eventually fetched more than three times the expected amount, with the auction finally closing at £1,500,000.

The painting, which took two days to complete after Thomas read the original manuscript, was painted with watercolours before outlines were drawn on with black pencil.

Bloomsbury, who published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, were sent pieces of work by Thomas in 1996 and they agreed to give him the job of designing the front cover.

The painting has increased significantly in value since the success of the Harry Potter film franchise (Picture: Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold millions around the world (Picture: HeritageAuctions/Bournemouth News/REX/Shutterstock)

Kalika Sands, who oversaw the auction, explained why the price had shot up so considerably in the last two decades: ‘In the intervening decades, it’s been extraordinary to see just the conclusion of Harry’s story.’

She continued: ‘The Harry Potter franchise has taken off and, in that time, new generations have come to appreciate Harry and his journey as well.’

The Harry Potter franchise has grown so large, in fact, that American US TV network HBO have officially announced concrete plans for a future TV series.

Set to begin in 2026, the Harry Potter show will adapt the famous kids fantasy novels for the small screen – each season is expected to cover one book.

While Daniel Radcliffe has said he won’t have any involvement with the series, Neville Longbottom actor Matthew Lewis has said he wouldn’t turn his nose up at the idea of coming back to the Wizarding World.

‘It’s not something I’m looking at or want to do but would not turn my nose up at,’ the 34-year-old actor told People. ‘I’d be very interested to see if it was Neville as an adult – a whole different vibe.’

Radcliffe had previously told E! News: ‘I don’t think [I’ll be involved with the TV series], I think they very wisely want to [get] a clean break.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More