If you believe in acquiring talent through osmosis, then Heritage Auctions has got a bidding deal for you! The chair J.K. Rowling sat in while typing up the first two Harry Potter stories is up for sale, but not at a price most of us could afford.
The chair is one of a mismatched set Rowling received back when she was just a single mom living in a social housing unit provided by the government. Since this chair was moderately more comfortable than the other three, Rowling set her typewriter up in front of it and wrote “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”
The actual chair itself is wholly unremarkable. According to the auction website it’s a standard 1930s era oak chair with a red thistle adorning the burlap seat and, if we’re being frank, even with the paint job it’s pretty ghastly. Rowling readily admitted that prior to her success it was something that would otherwise be “purchased from a junk shop for a tenner.”
Before donating the chair to a small auction in 2002 called “Chair-ish a Child,” Rowling had decorated it with hand-painted quotes from the series. The last time the chair was sold at auction it went for a respectable $29,117. Currently the bidding is at an astounding $65,000.
Now, this kitschy bit of literary memorabilia will find a new home, complete with a signed letter from Rowling herself.
“Dear new-owner-of-my-chair. I was given four mismatched dining room chairs in 1995 and this was the comfiest one, which is why it ended up stationed permanently in front of my typewriter, supporting me while I typed out Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. My nostalgic side is quite sad to see it go, but my back isn’t. J.K. Rowling.”
The auction is scheduled to end on Wednesday so place your bids now if your home could use a little decorative culture.
h/t BuzzFeed
Featured image screengrab via video.
