To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Bloomsbury is going to publish a new edition next June 9th. This was announced a few months ago, where the publisher promised that this new edition (that will have the original cover by Thomas Taylor) was going to include some extra content.
Today, thanks to an article published on The Guardian, we know that this edition is going to include original artwork by J.K. Rowling as well, made for the book back in the 90s. As you can learn in our book Secret History of the Wizarding Phenomenon, the orignal manuscript of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone cointained several illustrations by the authors that were later discarded by the publisher.
From The Guardian article is not clear how many illustrations are going to be included. While the article says “One sketch shows Rubeus Hagrid, Professor Albus Dumbledore and Professor Minerva McGonagall huddled together in a moonlit Privet Drive, while a small series of five drawings depicts Diagon Alley”, it also gives the idea that it may include more of the original illustrations.
The two sketches mentioned by the newspaper are well known for obsesive Harry Potter fans since they were part of recent Harry Potter exhibitions, as well as companion books and other media. Both illustrations can be seen below.
The 25th Anniversary Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is published by Bloomsbury on June 9th, 2022.