I was on Skype with my friend, trying to plan out our activities for our London trip in December 2017. “There’s this exhibition at the British Library,” she told me, “we could squeeze it in there somewhere if you’d like.” I asked her what it was about. Magic, she said. Specifically, magic in the world of Harry Potter. Intriguing, I thought. “Sure, let’s add that to our schedule,” I said.
Fast forward to New Year’s Eve. We arrived at the British Library in the afternoon, and four enormous banners greeted us as we entered; blue for Ravenclaw, green for Slytherin, red for Gryffindor and yellow for Hufflepuff. A big poster with Fawkes the phoenix adorned the entrance of the exhibition.
A History of Magic marks 20 years since the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and the start of the worldwide phenomenon that is the Harry Potter stories. While writing the books, J.K. Rowling drew on rich traditions of folklore and mythology from across the globe. In our journey through the ten different compartments of the exhibition, we explored some of the subjects taught at Hogwarts, as well as the corresponding myths and traditions that are connected to them; Potions, Alchemy, Herbology, Charms, Astronomy, Divination, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. Portraits of the most notable Hogwarts professors were hanging on the walls, next to various showcased magical items (a real witch’s broom, for instance), ancient manuscripts, and even J.K. Rowlings own hand-written notes and sketches.
In the end of the exhibition, there was an area where you could write about your impressions on a card and hang it on a string against the wall. One of the cards had the shape of a bottle on it; someone had drawn a bunch of eyeballs in the bottle and had written the words “a feast for the eyes”. I chuckled - I couldn’t have put it better. Eventually, I decided to leave them a note myself. “Simply magical,” I wrote on my card and tucked it into one of the clips.
Want another post about London? Check out London - the theatrical experience of a lifetime
(photo from the official Twitter account of the British Library)