Rare ‘Harry Potter’ book handwritten by JK Rowling sells for £370,000

'The Tales Of Beedle The Bard' was one of seven copies

A rare copy of a Harry Potter spin-off book that was handwritten by JK Rowling has sold at an auction for nearly £370,000.

The Tales Of Beedle The Bard was one of six copies the author passed on to people closely involved with the wizard books.

The copy that sold belonged to Barry Cunningham, the publisher who first signed Rowling.

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It went under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London for £368,750, including buyer’s premium. It had a pre-sale estimate of £300,000-£500,000, reports BBC News.

As well as writing 6,000 words by hand, Rowling drew illustrations in the book and wrote an inscription to Mr Cunningham.

She wrote: “To Barry, the man who thought an overlong novel about a boy wizard in glasses might just sell… THANK YOU.”

The book was originally released in 2007 as a spin-off from the main Harry Potter series.

It is bound in brown morocco leather and is adorned with semi-precious stones and a sterling silver mounted skull.

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The manuscript of the wizarding tales is one of only seven unique copies that exist.

Six were given away by Rowling while a seventh was made specifically for sale at auction. It sold for £1.95m in 2007.

Meanwhile, Rowling recently offered a few hints as to events in future Fantastic Beasts films.

Rowling penned the script for the prequel movie, which is set around 70 years before the Harry Potter saga begins. The story focuses on Newt Scamander, the author of one of Harry’s Hogwarts text books, and his adventures in New York City. Eddie Redmayne stars as Newt Scamander, heading up a cast that includes Colin Farrell, Katherine Waterston and Samantha Morton.

The writer recently defended her decision to turn the Fantastic Beasts saga into five movies.

“I think, when you realise what story we’re really telling, you’ll understand that it can’t possibly fit in one movie,” Rowling said.

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