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You may be wondering what Harry Potter has to do with the New York Historical Society – or even with the city itself?
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the publication in New York of "Harry Potter and the Wizard Stone", which marks the beginning of J.K. Rowling's sprawling series. That, and the fact that his "fantastic Beasts and where to find them" is in the 1920s in New York, was reason enough, says Cristian Panaite, NYHS curator, to justify "Harry Potter: a story of magic" .
True, only a Muggle would quibble with a show that would give us owl feathers and brooms; huge paintings by Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall; Rowling's own sketches; more mandrakes, gnomes and a merman. These are just a few of the more than 200 items shown here in 10 dimly-lit rooms organized around the Hogwarts school curriculum: Herbology, Potions, Charms, Magic Creatures, and more.
But the series is not a fantasy. Rowling has anchored her adventures in real life customs, and "Harry Potter: A Story of Magic" draws on artifacts from around the world. You will see the reflections of Leonardo da Vinci on the moon in his notebook; an Ethiopian booklet on how to turn into a lion; and the tombstone of Nicolas Flamel. The latter was a 15th century French alchemist who would have found the stone of the philosopher, who promised eternal life. His body has disappeared from his grave, but Rowling's books have made him immortal.
Art by Brian Selznick © 2018 by Scholastic Inc.
The exhibition, which opened Friday, was imported from the British Library in London, where it was sold in the first 10 days of its three-month run. "We have seen more than 175,000 visitors," says the British Library Commissioner, The Post, "more than our last big show – on the Magna Carta." Again, this show did not offer a cloak invisibility – or, at least, the hanger it rests on.
There are several interactive screens, one of which reads your tarot cards. Lift one of the flower pots from the Herbalism section and you'll hear Jim Dale talk about it in a Potter audiobook.
This new show has a few items that its British predecessor was missing. Check out the 72-inch "unicorn horn", loaned by the New York Explorers' Club, where it is touted as the narwhal defense.
As Rowling fans and historians know, unicorn horns are considered a cure for almost everything that hurts you. An old text describing the best way to catch one is presented on the screen: It requires the turn of a virgin virgin in which a unicorn will take a nap while the hunter sneaks into it.
For British and American curators, one of the greatest treasures is the Ripley Scroll, a richly illustrated medieval guide 20 feet long to make a philosopher's stone.
This last sentence inspired the title of the first Harry Potter book published in Britain. Here in New York, Arthur Levine, a book publisher at Scholastic, feared that any mention of "philosophy" would repel American readers. In the letter posted here, he urges Rowling to choose "Harry Potter and the School of Magic". Seems "the sorcerer's stone" was a compromise.
Harry's adventures now appear in 80 languages, including Hebrew and German. Some two dozen books, including "Harry Potter and Halbblutprinz", are in a shop window on their way to the museum's souvenir shops, which are full of phoenix t-shirts, woolen mufflers and t-shirts. chocolate sticks. Anyone looking for a sorting hat, a Hufflepuff handbag, an owl patterned pillow or a Gringotts handbag will find them all here, respectively, priced at $ 33, $ 68, $ 52 and $ 18.95.
Not for sale is the note that triggered everything. At the time when Rowling's agent sent his first chapter around a box of Smarties chocolate candies, Nigel Newton, publisher of Bloomsbury Press, was too busy to read it.
She devoured it, chocolates and everything.
"L & # 39; excitement [sic] in this book, I felt very warm, "she wrote to her father. "I think it's probably one of the best books that a child of 8/9 can read."
Good call, Alice! And we are grateful.
"Harry Potter: A story of magic" runs through January 27th at the New York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West; nyhistory.org
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