Books

How To Get Tickets For The Harry Potter Exhibit That's Coming To The U.S. For The First Time

by Kerri Jarema
Warner Bros. Pictures

It's undeniable that Harry Potter fans are some of the most rabid fandom consumers on the planet. If there is anything HP related going on anywhere, we will be there and we will be really thrilled about it. Which is why the news that the super-successful Harry Potter: A History of Magic exhibit would be showing at the New-York Historical Society was so exciting to Potterheads stateside. Even bigger news? Tickets for the exhibit, which will run from Oct. 5, 2018 - Jan. 27, 2019, have just gone on sale at the exhibit's official website — and you're definitely going to want to make sure you set some Galleons aside for this historic event.

For those unaware, the exhibit — which is coming to New York after a stellar run at the British Library in London — captures the traditions of folklore and magic at the heart of the series through centuries-old treasures, including rare books, manuscripts, and magical objects from the collections of the British Library, the New-York Historical Society, and other museums. There will also be tons of original material from Scholastic and from J.K. Rowling's own archives, making this one of the most exclusive exhibits of HP artifacts yet.

Especially exciting, the exhibition will include many new items that will be on public display for the first time ever, including Mary GrandPré’s pastel illustrations for the cover artwork of Scholastic’s original editions of the novels; Brian Selznick’s newly created artwork for the covers of the anniversary edition of the Harry Potter series to be published by Scholastic this summer; cover art by Kazu Kibuishi featured in Scholastic’s 15th anniversary boxset; early letters between J.K. Rowling and American editor of the series Arthur A. Levine; and the enormous steamer trunk used to transport a signed copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on the Queen Mary to the U.S. Also on display for the first time in the U.S. are handwritten first drafts from The Philosopher’s Stone and Deathly Hallows, the author’s hand-drawn sketch of the Hogwarts grounds, and portraits and sketches of Hogwarts professors and magical creatures created by British illustrator Jim Kay.

As if all of that wasn't enough, the exhibit will also include costumes and set models from the new play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, now running on Broadway, as well as a collection of international editions of Harry Potter. If you haven't already clicked over to buy tickets, you definitely have more willpower than me. And speaking of tickets, here's the info: head over to the New-York Historical Society website to choose the date and time you would like to visit the exhibit. There are only a certain amount of tickets available for each date and time, so act fast! Tickets are $21 for adults, $13 for high school and college students, $16 for seniors and $6 for kids — so you can take your whole family along for the magical outing.