2021 marks the twentieth anniversary of the Harry Potter films. To celebrate this milestone, Julien’s Auctions is offering a collection of props from the film franchise within their two-day ‘Hollywood Legends & Luminaries’ sale, taking place from 28 to 29 April.
Harry Potter collectables are known for reaching incredible sums: in 2016, a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard from 2007 – presented to a person ‘closely connected to the Harry Potter books’ and one of only seven manuscript copies – sold for £368,750 at Sotheby’s. Also in 2016, the wooden chair in which J K Rowling sat to write the first two Harry Potter novels sold for $394,000 (£280,000) at Heritage Auctions.
The star lot among the collection for sale at Julien’s Auctions is undoubtedly Harry Potter’s (Daniel Radcliffe) wand from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
During the climax of the film, Harry first meets a newly-resurrected Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and is forced into a magical duel with the Dark Lord. It is then that he finds out that the wand represented by this prop – an 11-inch holly wand (the prop is actually 14 inches) with a single tailfeather from Fawkes the phoenix at its core – is a ‘brother’ to the wand wielded by Voldemort, his greatest foe. “The wand,” as wandmaker Garrick Ollivander says, “chooses the wizard.”
See also: The 7 Most Expensive Harry Potter Collectors’ Items
Potion’s Professor Severus Snape’s (Alan Rickman) wand is also for sale, used in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Another enchanting item for sale is a Hogwarts wax-seal acceptance letter from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Just before his eleventh birthday, the gifted magical pre-teen receives his acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry inside an envelope addressed in green ink to “Mr. H. Potter, / The Cupboard under the Stairs, / 4, Privet Drive, / Little Whinging, / Surrey.”
See also: History's 6 Most Popular Film Posters
In one of the most iconic sequences in modern cinema, hundreds of identical envelopes inundate the home of Vernon and Petunia Dursley, Harry’s recalcitrant aunt and uncle who fostered him after his parents were murdered. The letters blast through sealed mail slots and pour from the chimney as fate – aided by headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris) – comes for the young wizard. This piece with its broken wax seal and the visible Hogwarts crest is likely one of the hero props, used for close-ups with actor Daniel Radcliffe. It is this letter that sends Potter off to face his destiny, kicking off a franchise that has produced ten films and counting.
In 2016, a Harry Potter acceptance letter sold at Prop Store for £7,000 – 133% above its original £3,000-5,000 estimate.
Other magical items going under the hammer include Harry Potter’s prophecy record orb (from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), a Harry Potter trunk box signed by fifty actors on set of film production, the Flying Ford Anglia licence plate and badge (from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Gringotts coins, a clapperboard (from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), and a Harry Potter Quibbler magazine prop (from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1).
