New Delhi [India], Apr 1 : Potterheads, this October, the British Library will have new inclusions, which will excite you to the core- some never-before-seen Harry Potter stuffs! According to Pottermore.com, J.K.
Rowling's digital publishing company, one of those many never-before-seen artefacts to be displayed at the Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibition, will be an early handwritten draft of Rowling's Sorting Hat song from 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.' The poem, which featured in the book as the boy wizard arrived at Hogwarts school for the first time, reads: "Oh, you may not think I'm pretty/ But don't judge on what you see/ I'll eat myself if you can find/ A smarter hat that me." The British Library's exhibition is in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the first publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and will display everything from rare books, manuscripts and treasures from the British Library's archives to original drafts and drawings from J.K.
Rowling. Pieces from illustrator Jim Kay will also be on display, as well as original manuscripts and editorial notes from Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury.
An early draft of the Sorting Hat song from the first Harry Potter story joins over 100 magical artefacts that form the core of this new exhibition, exploring the origins of magic and folklore that underpin the themes of the Harry Potter stories.
Julian Harrison, head curator at the British Library, while sharing her delight with the artifact, said, "It's always so thrilling to see an author's original draft in their own handwriting, and J.K.
Rowling's draft of the Sorting Hat song is no exception. It's integral to the Harry Potter stories, and it's amazing to see how it was originally written and amended.
We hope this provides an exciting taster of what kind of material visitors can expect to see in our exhibition." Julian introduced further examples showing some early depictions of magic from the British Library's collections, "We're also delighted to be revealing two beautiful items from the British Library's collections that will feature in the exhibition as part of the Potions section - Harry's least favourite Hogwarts subject!" One is the first printed depiction of a witch with a cauldron, published in 1480.
According to The British Library, this is taken from the book On Witches and Female Fortune Tellers written by Ulrich Molitor and shows 'two elderly women placing a snake and a cockerel respectively into a large flaming pot, in order to create a hailstorm.'.
Source: ANI
