JK Rowling's Potter sketches to be printed

Twenty-five years ago, the first book in the Harry Potter series was published in 1997. Since then, over 500 million copies of the Harry Potter series have been sold worldwide and the books have also been translated into 80 languages. And now as a part of its silver anniversary celebrations, the first Harry Potter book titled ' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ' will be reissued in June 2022 by Bloomsbury Children’s Books and they'll contain author JK Rowling ’s original sketches done in the early 1990s!

Rowling's sketches depict characters including Professor Albus Dumbledore, Professor Minerva McGonagall, and Rubeus Hagrid, among others. They were first publicly seen in 2016 on Harry Potter's fan site Pottermore. Rowling's early illustrations depict her feelings, thoughts, and ideas about these characters, which she had created back then.

The 25th anniversary Harry Potter editions will also have the famous cover drawn in 1996 by Thomas Taylor, who made his debut as a designer with these books, reports The Guardian.

Talking about working on the first Harry Potter illustrations back then, which have now become an international bestseller, illustrator Thomas Taylor said, according to The Guardian, “I’m often asked if I was paralysed by the pressure of producing the cover art for the very first edition. But that is because nowadays it’s hard to imagine a time when no one had heard of Harry Potter at all. I was a newly graduated art student back in 1996, and looking for my first break in illustration.”

The new reprint will also solve a mystery which has confused ardent Harry Potter readers for many years. It is noted that the initial 500 Harry Potter book 1 which were printed carried an illustration of an unknown wizard on the back cover. While the illustration was replaced with Albus Dumbledore's picture in later books, fans have questioned who the unnamed wizard was for long. Finally revealing the mystery, Taylor further said, as reported by The Guardian, that 'he drew a study of his own “magical” father, Robert, dressed in a pointy hat and smoking a large pipe.'

Taylor also said, as per the report, that he was 23 years old when he first worked on the Harry Potter illustrations. Back then, a printed copy of the manuscript to read and a brief about the drawings. He is now an established illustrator and children’s author.

Meanwhile, the new reprint of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' will be available for sale for a year.

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