A London collector has purchased a six-piece archive of letters and gifts penned by JK Rowling to a terminally ill fan of her Harry Potter series for £9,150 at auction. The collection, which includes signed letters, notes, and memorabilia, dates back to the early 2000s and was sent to Jackie Whitbread and her daughter Stephanie, who was living with Juvenile Batten disease.
Details of the Archive
The archive sold at Dominic Winter auctioneers last week to a private London collector who placed their bid online. The items include two letters signed by Rowling, written on “owl post” headed paper as a nod to the magical franchise. In one letter, Rowling apologised for being unable to obtain tickets for Stephanie to attend a screening of the first Harry Potter film. She also wrote that Stephanie’s enthusiasm for the books “obviously makes me like you very much” and sent a small stuffed owl as a gift.
A signed notecard praised Stephanie’s suggestion to add a “blind wizard” to the series. The collection also included a CD of the soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and other related notes.
Background on Stephanie and Rowling’s Kindness
Stephanie was battling a neurodegenerative disorder that causes progressive vision loss, epilepsy, and decline in cognitive and motor functions. She died in 2013 at age 22. Dominic Winter auctioneers described the collection as “a poignant testament” to “Rowling’s generosity towards one of her readers at a particularly difficult moment in her life.”
Chris Albury, a director at Dominic Winter auctioneers, said: “At the heart of this is a deeply tragic story, but it also speaks to the lasting affection readers feel for JK Rowling and the Harry Potter books. Written four years after the publication of the first novel in 1997, these letters show Rowling to be a deeply kind and generous person, with a genuine warmth towards her young fan, Stephanie, and her mother, Jackie. We knew the letters would resonate with people because of the compassion and humanity they convey, as well as the enduring passion for Harry Potter memorabilia, so it was wonderful to see them attract such strong interest and achieve £9,150 at auction.”
Rowling’s Legacy
Rowling is the award-winning author of the Harry Potter fantasy novels, which chronicle the life of young wizard Harry Potter and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger at Hogwarts School. The best-selling series was published in the 1990s and early 2000s and adapted into eight films starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, spanning from 2001 to 2011.
