This month, the NY Historical Society opened a new exhibit that came straight from the British Museum called Harry Potter, A History of Magic. I was very excited about this exhibit not only because I had enjoyed reading the Harry Potter books with my Kiddo, but also because the Medieval period has always been a favorite of mine and much of J.K. Rowling's sources had their roots there.
The tickets are timed, but I had chosen midday on a weekday figuring most kids would be in school. And I was right - most of the visitors were adults. As you enter the museum, you also enter a sorta kinda replica of Hogwarts
From there, you walk through a series different rooms. The first room begins the journey, where you'll find Rowling's original synopsis of Harry Potter sent to Bloomsbury, her sketch of how Hogwarts is laid out, and various illustrations, a few by Rowling herself, and others by Jim McKay, the British illustrator.
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| Entrance to Astronomy Source: NY Times |
Each room after that is devoted to a subject that is offered at Hogwarts, beginning with Potions, including Alchemy, where you can see the tombstone of Nicolas Flamel dating back to 1410. I actually do remember learning about Nicolas Flamel in one of my graduate classes, so I was particularly interested in seeing it:
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| Tombstone of Nicolas Flamel |
From there, the exhibit takes you through Herbology, Charms, Astronomy, Divination, Defence Against the Dark Arts, and the Care of Magical Creatures. Each exhibit has historical artifacts that helped Rowling create the world of Harry Potter, and some of her personal items, such as drafts, sketches, and ideas.
Besides the tombstone of Nicolas Flamel, I loved seeing the beautiful Celestial Globe in Astronomy and the over 6 metre long 16th century Ripley Scroll, one of only 23 still in existence (alas, the original is lost). Named after George Ripley, an alchemist who lived in the 15 century, this is the scroll that tells you how to make the elixir of eternal life, or the philosopher's stone:
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| The Ripley Scroll |
This photo gives some idea of the length of the scroll but not the beauty of it. Here's an interesting fact about this scroll and the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Towards the bottom of the scroll, there are three connected circles or orbs which are white, red and black. In Latin, albus means white, rebus means red, and of course, Sirius' last name is black.
There is just so much in this exhibit, it would be impossible to cover all of it, so if you are going to be in or around New York City, you might want to add this to your list of things to do. One thing I would highly recommend is downloading the FREE audio tour from Audible since the exhibit is NOT about the Harry Potter books per se.
Be prepared - to exit this exhibit, you walk through the extended museum store (good to know if you are with kids). I did buy the companion book but from the British Museum a while ago. The book at the Historic Society looks to be the same, except the cover and there is much more in it that just the exhibit artifacts.
Your ticket will allow you to see any of the other exhibits, and while I was there, I went upstairs to see the photo exhibit of Billie Jean King's professional life, which I found very interesting.
Good to know: there is also ladies and mens rooms on the second floor that is not usually as busy as those on the ground floor.
Wonderful exhibit! So happy for you that you could go. All that background about the meanings is fantastic.
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