Brier Dudley's Blog

Brier Dudley offers a critical look at technology and business issues affecting the Northwest.

December 13, 2007 3:17 PM

Amazon buys J.K. Rowling fairy tales, posting them now

Talk about a big thank you: Amazon.com just spent about $4 million buying one of seven handmade copies of J.K. Rowling's "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" at a London auction.

Rowling auctioned the book of "wizarding fairy tales" that she mentioned in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" to support The Children's Voice, a charitable campaign for institutionalized children.

Amazon's "incredibly excited" about the deal and has put a prominent link at the center of its homepage, directing visitors to scans of the book.

Here's Amazon's description of the book -- which it isn't selling:

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard is extensively illustrated and handwritten by the bard herself -- all 157 pages of it. It's bound in brown Moroccan leather and embellished with five hand-chased hallmarked sterling silver ornaments and mounted moonstones.

The company's adding reviews and more images right now.

When it's all scanned, perhaps it'll be put on public display somewhere in Seattle, like the Seattle Art Museum?

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