A 1930s-era oak chair that J.K. Rowling used while writing the first two books of the Harry Potter series has sold for $394,000.
Heritage Auctions held the sale Wednesday in New York.
The chair was one of four mismatched chairs given to the then little-known writer for her flat in Edinburgh, Scotland. Seated in it, she wrote “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”
The chair was auctioned twice before — once by Rowling to benefit charity.
Before she donated the chair, she painted on it: “You may not/find me pretty/but don’t judge/on what you see.”
She also wrote: “I wrote/Harry Potter/while sitting/on this chair.”
The seller is donating 10 percent of the purchase from the anonymous private buyer to Rowling’s children’s charity.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.