JK Rowling's Harry Potter writing chair to sell for over $150,000

A chair used, and later decorated, by author J.K. Rowling while she wrote the first two Harry Potter books on display alongside a letter of provenance from the author at Heritage Auctions in New York on April 4 2016 ahead of its sale on April 6. Picture: William Edwards/AFP/Getty Images

Hand-decorated by Rowling herself, the chair will change hands again at Heritage Auctions in New York today.

Although the chipped and creaking seat is not very valuable, its association with the Harry Potter series makes it a true one-of-a-kind item. Rowling used the chair in front of her typewriter when creating Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in her Edinburgh council flat.

The 1930s-era dining chair was given to Rowling in 1995 as part of a free set to furnish her council flat in Edinburgh.

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Lot number 45297 has no reserve and is currently sitting at $150,000 and includes a signed letter from the author detailing the chair’s unique provenance will also be included in the final sale.

Only a few years after Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was released, Rowling donated the seat to the Chair-ish a Child auction in aid of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). Before doing so, the chair was painted with gold, rose and green paints and festooned with slogans such as “I wrote / Harry Potter / while sitting / on this chair.”

The chair was relisted on eBay in 2009, when the current owner managed to snare it for £19,555.

James Gannon from Heritage Auctions, said: “The international phenomenon that would become, and still is, Harry Potter had its humble beginnings in this modest old chair.

“It’s inspiring to imagine the young mother and author settling down at her desk, seated in this chair.”

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