The world of books got a whole lot better in 1997. Book publishers, the reading public, book collectors and book resellers, both new and used, and mostly young readers were given a pathway to the stars when a young, single, Scottish mother living in poverty finally got a book publisher, Bloomsbury in London, to believe in her creation. She had penned a story of an eleven-year-old wizard who quite unexpectedly received an invitation to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry Potter was off and running.
J. K. Rowling single headedly, stemmed the decline in young people not bothering with the reading of physical books. And some older folks too. Within a few years, the arrival of a new Harry Potter book created huge line-ups at midnight so aficionados could get their personal copy of the next segment of the good vs evil world of Harry Potter and his faithful companions.
This was not unlike the Star Wars phenonium. Good vs Evil in a world of wonder.
But there was a dark side to this story. And that was the exposure of mean-spirited, bible thumping, low intelligence cretins who insisted that the Harry Potter books be banned from public libraries because these books dripped of witchcraft and satanism and young people will be drawn down paths of evil! But the good side won. Having lost this battle, this sorry group moved on to welcome their savior – Donald Trump. (My musing – my theory!)
The happiness that Harry Potter brought to readers was boundless. Except for the fact that the books were not illustrated. This was rectified in 2015, when Bloomsbury brought out the first illustrated edition. And they are still in the process of illustrating each volume in the series. The artist chosen was Jim Kay, and he has completed at least four of the Rowling books to date.
The illustrated Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published in 2015. It has been reprinted and reprinted and the last number that I came across was it’s fifteenth printing. Our copy is the first printing.
Here is some of the book’s description from our on-line posting:
Dear Mr. Potter: We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July. Yours Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress. Harry Potter’s life changes forever on his eleventh birthday, when beetle-eyed giant Rubeus Hagrid delivers a letter and some astonishing news. Harry Potter is no ordinary boy: he’s a wizard. And an extraordinary adventure is about to begin…The first ever Illustrated Edition of J. K. Rowling’s magical classic is packed with glorious colour illustrations by Jim Kay, winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal. An utterly enchanting feast of a book, perfect for devoted fans and new readers alike.
Here is some of the book’s description from our on-line posting:
Foot-high words had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the light cast by the flaming torches – THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE. When the shabby little house-elf Dobby pops up in Privet Drive insisting Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts, Harry suspects his arch-rival, Draco Malfoy, may be behind it. Rescued from the dire Dursleys by Ron Weasley – in an enchanted flying car – Harry spends the rest of the summer at The Burrow. Life with the Weasleys is so full of magical distractions, Harry soon forgets Dobby’s frantic warnings. But back at school a sinister message found daubed in a dark corridor echoes Dobby’s predictions that terrible things are about to happen… Jim Kay, winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal, conjures the wizarding world in stunning detail in the fully illustrated edition of the second book in J. K. Rowling’s classic series.