Last year, the British Library launched a Harry Potter-themed exhibition of rare art and manuscripts not just from the beloved series, but artifacts from folklores and mystical beliefs from across the world. Thanks to the rabid desires of the Potter fanbase, tickets quickly sold out – but if you missed out, you can now see parts of it online thanks to magic (technology).
Google, through their Arts and Culture program (a.k.a. that thing everyone was taking selfies with to compare themselves to classical artwork for a hot minute), has launched a new online hub that lets people who couldn’t get into A History of Magic virtually gaze upon everything from early drafts from J.K. Rowling’s time writing the Potter saga to details from the Ripley Scroll, the legendary 15th century manuscript meant to show the arcane process of creating a philosopher’s stone.
Although it’s not the complete exhibition, Google’s Potter hub lets you get up as close as you can to artwork and literary works that are on display in A History of Magic, without the fuss of… well, actually travelling to the British Library and having to deal with the worst of all muggles, tourists. It’s even available in five languages beyond English (Spanish, French, German, Hindi and Brazilian Portuguese), opening it up to an even wider audience of magically-curious people, whether they’re Potter fans or otherwise.
You can check out the History of Magic hub here, or through the Google Arts and Culture app on iOS and Android.
[Google]