Rare JK Rowling book goes on display in Tokyo

Tag : Handmade Leather
Online bookseller Amazon on Thursday gaveJapanese fans a glimpse of J.K. Rowling's first book since thephenomenally successful Harry Potter series, which it bought forfour million dollars.

"The Tales of Beedle the Bard" is one of seven handmade books bythe British author. Amazon, bidding anonymously, bought it at aDecember auction at Sotheby's where it fetched 40 times theexpected price.

Amazon unveiled the book at a Tokyo press conference to promote therelease of the Japanese translation of "Harry Potter And TheDeathly Hallows," the seventh and final novel of the series.

The Japanese edition goes on sale later this month, but Amazon hasalready received more than 70,000 advance orders, the company said.

"The Tales" are linked to the last Potter tome. The book issupposed to be the volume of five tales of wizardry left toPotter's friend Hermione Granger by headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

One of the tales appears in "Deathly Hallows," but the remainingfour are told in "The Tales" for the first time.

There are just seven of the handmade books, bound in brown Moroccanleather covered with a silver skull motif and jewels. Rowling gavethe other six to people involved with the Potter books.

Amazon, which has sold 12 million of the Potter books worldwide,will invite just 20 lucky customers from those who made onlineadvance orders in Japan to an event where they can look at theinside pages, the company said.

All proceeds from the sales of the handwritten single volume wentto Rowling's charity, Children's Voice, which helps vulnerablechildren across Europe.

The 42-year-old author, who once lived on welfare, has become abillionaire, with the tales of the boy wizard translated into 64languages.