Copper kettles, woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with string...

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

Featured brown paper packaging - SPECIAL EDITION

Well, when I said I wasn’t going to talk about it, I lied. I admit it, I bought the collector’s edition (I ordered it back when splurges weren’t yet quite so forboden) of J.K. Rowling’s new Harry Potter book, The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Available, as they frequently remind us, exclusively through Amazon.com. And, what can I say, since I like to highlight fun pop culture packaging, I just couldn’t resist a little photo gallery of my own.

So before we get to the pictures… what gives with the collector’s edition’s steep $100 price tag? (The standard edition sells for about $7.) Serious, serious packaging. We’re talking at least three layers to just get to the book itself. And with an outer case (shaped like a gilded-paged book) sized at about a foot, and the enclosed book itself a peppy little 7 inches, it does come across as a tad… overdramatic? Only J.K. Rowling gets packaging like this for a short story collection that comes in at about 170 pages. A short story collection with a fake leather cover, raised metal engravings and “replica gemstones” no less. (The multi-million dollar, handcrafted, original version of the book has the real leather, silver and gemstones.)

Nevertheless, do I think it was worth the money? Heck, yes! Plus, all proceeds go to charity.

Here’s what this megalith consists of, in a comprehensive photo gallery (special thanks to my photographer!):

the box it came in - complete with fancy script!

the cover of the outer case

the cover of the outer case - it's supposed to look like a Hogwarts library textbook

the impressively thick spine of the outer case

the plush interior of the outer case, with signed velvet bag for book and beige envelope containing enlarged illustrations

the book itself, sitting on top of its velvet bag and the case interior

the book itself, sitting on top of its velvet bag and the case's interior (does anyone else think that skull is slightly creepy? I swear those eyes are staring at me)

the book and its velvet bag

the book and its velvet bag (with signature)

title page

title page, a who's who of wizardry: Rowling, Dumbledore, Granger!

J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction

a page from J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction - in person it's more legible (sort of), I swear

page from the story "The Fountain of Fair Fortune"

elegant page from the story "The Fountain of Fair Fortune"

additional illustrations (from the beige envelope)

the 10 enlarged illustrations taken from the book (held in the beige envelope), suitable for framing!

December 9, 2008 | Filed Under Books 

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  • featured brown paper packaging

    What is it with accessories and DVD sets these days? Are knick knack companies going through some rough times? Or are studios just really desperate to sell DVDs? (Probably the latter.) First there was A Christmas Story (Ultimate Collector's Edition), with its cookie cutters, recipe book, apron, commemorative Christmas tin... (Whoa, I know.)

    And now there's The Notebook (Limited Edition Gift Set), which comes with a scrapbook album (with stickers!), notecards, envelopes, and "themed" bookmarks. But... wait for it... no new DVD extras or features! So totally worth it. Check out Entertainment Weekly for the lackluster DVD set review (a grade of D - harsh). Or, even better, Amazon's video montage of the contents, set to the soothing, Jane Austen movie-esque sounds of The Notebook's theme music. Hey, they know their audience.