It is unbelievable but true: the first book about the adventures of "The Boy Who Lived" was published 20 years ago. In these two decades, a fabulous story of magic, friendship and triumph of good has gone from a manuscript that nobody wanted to publish, to a true cultural phenomenon with a huge fan base around the world.
Jubilee events were held not only in the UK. In the USA the round date of publication of the book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was celebrated by a large-scale exhibition, brought from the British library in London. During the "Harry Potter: A History of Magic" exhibition in New York historical society turned into a real branch of Hogwarts: everyone can get acquainted with magical artifacts, books, artwork and unique exhibits from personal archive of J. K. Rowling here.

A dive into the world of magic and sorcery occurs rapidly: from the outside of the building you can find enlarged illustrations from books, the exhibition entrance is guarded by statues of owls sitting on a makeshift wall of Hogwarts.

And in the first room there is a stand with paper copies of the first book from different countries. The second book from the right in the bottom row is the publication designed by the artist-Illustrator Vladislav Erko.

The exhibition itself is organized on the principle of travelling from one magic item to another. So, for example, here is the hall of the Astronomical tower:

In whole the interiors are reminiscent of corridors and classrooms of the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The main purpose of the exhibition is to show how deep the world of "Harry Potter" is connected with the real story. One of the most valuable exhibits here is the foliant of the English botanist Nicholas Culpeper's "Complete Herbal", dating 1653. Rowling used this book for inventing potions and magical plants. And next to it there is the illustrated herbalist by Giovanni Cadamosto, where you can find instructions for extracting a mandrake root.

Another interesting exhibit is a real bezoar (a stone from the stomach of a goat, which is a powerful antidote).

The "Library of Hogwarts" also includes the diaries of Leonardo da Vinci.

A fragment of the manuscript of Liber Medicinalis (XIII), which contains the first known reference to the spell "abracadabra" — the prototype of the killing curse "Avada Kedavra".

An English bestiary of the thirteenth century which mentions the phoenix.

There are also real magical artifacts. Here is the broom belonged to a woman called Olga Hunt from Devon, England. The modern "witch" of the XX century, according to witnesses, loved to ride on this broomstick over the hills of Dartmoor in the full moon. Today the broom is kept in the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Cornwall.

There is even a "stuffed mermaid"! In fact the sculpture was made from the body of a carp, tree and chicken's claws, and is an exhibit of the Horniman Museum in London.

And this magic crystal belonged to the witch known as Smelly Nelly, which used to generously pour perfume on herself, believing that the scent helped her to communicate with the spirits.

A separate place in the exhibition occupies the Ripley's Scroll from Yale — six meter long guide on creation of the philosopher's stone, which grants its owner infinite wealth and eternal life. Here is the tombstone of the French alchemist Nicolas Flamel.

A special room is reserved for illustrations for books by various authors.

Impressive portraits of the professors of Hogwarts created by the artist Jim Kay.

The portrait of Severus Snape was made with remarkable attention to detail: the mole symbolizes espionage activity of the hero and flowers of lily of the valley — a reference to the love of his life, Lily Evans.

But the most touching illustrations were created by J. K. Rowling. That is how the author saw her characters and scenes from the books long before film adaptations appeared:

At the exit a photo zone in the shape of the most famous covers of the first book is waiting for fans:

The Gryffindor Abraham Lincoln will greet fans of the universe in the New-York Historical Society until January 27, 2019.