Business Insider is reporting the sale of JK Rowling's chair, which she used to write Harry Potter books recently sold at Heritage Auctions in New York for $391,186. The chair is a circa 1930s paint decorated oak with a replaced burlap seat with red thistle decorations.
The chair last sold for $27,502 in 2009.
Business Insider reports
Source: Business InsiderThe chair that JK Rowling sat in to write two of the "Harry Potter" books has just been sold for a staggering £278,000 ($391,186) at an auction in New York.
The 1930s oak chair was bought by an anonymous private buyer through Heritage Auctions on April 6.
It is one of four mismatched chairs that were provided to the author by the government to furnish her former council flat in Edinburgh, where she lived as a poor single mum before rising to acclaim.
The famous chair — which Rowling sat on to write the first drafts of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" — has a replacement burlap seat decorated with a red thistle and the chair maker's initials printed on the seat.
Rowling painted the chair in gold and rose, writing along the seat apron: "I wrote Harry Potter while sitting on this chair." She also added a range of Hogwarts references, including the Sorting Hat's comment: "You may not find me pretty — but don't judge on what you see."
The 50-year-old author first put the chair up for auction in 2002 with the proceeds going to charity. It was resold in 2009, fetching £19,555 ($27,502).
Along with the chair, its new owner received the framed "By Owl Post" letter that Rowling wrote when the piece of furniture first went up for sale, which says: "My nostalgic side is quite sad to see it go, but my back isn't."
The chair's seller, Gerald Gray from Greater Manchester, has plans to give part of the chair's proceeds to charity.
"I plan to donate 10% to JK Rowling's charity, Lumos, because that's what she did in the first place," Gray said, according to The Guardian.
Gray hopes that the new owner will display the chair in a public institution like a museum, where it can be viewed by "Harry Potter" fans, The Guardian reports.
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