Original Harry Potter cover art up for auction

PIECES of original artwork for two of the books in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series are expected to fetch five-figure sums when they are auctioned in the USA.

The original artwork for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is set to go up for auction. Picture: TSPL

British artist Cliff Wright produced the ink and watercolour illustrations, which were used for the covers of the 1998 classic Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, and the follow up the Prisoner of Azkaban released the following year.

The Chamber of Secrets’ illustration - 57cm by 48 cm - has a starting guide price of $20,000 US dollars, or around £12,000. It shows Harry and Ron Weasley in a flying Ford Anglia, with the wizard’s owl Hedwig in the back seat.

The second sketch shows Harry and Hermione on Buckbeak the mythical Hippogriff, with bids starting at $12,500 (£7580) for the 12cm-squared artwork.

The pieces will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders in Los Angeles on Thursday.

JK Rowling wrote seven novels in the wizarding series, and famously worked on the books in a number of Edinburgh coffee shops. The novels were reproduced around the world and led to a hugely successful series of films.

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