This Friday Pottermore unveiled 8 new book covers for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in celebration of the book's 20th anniversary. I know, has it really been that long? There are 8 new books, a hardback and paperback for each house, which feature new house crests that are all set to be released in June of this year. Every Potterhead (including myself) out there loves showing off their house pride and these new anniversary edition books are a perfect addition to anyone's collection.
Illustrator Levi Pinfold was honored to be chosen to create the new covers. I have to say, he did a fantastic job. For each house, he created a crest that takes into account the attitude and major attributes of each house. The greatest thing about these new books is that they feature a cover for everyone, not only the "popular" houses. Though I'm a Gryffindor and have little trouble coming across cool new merchandise, my many Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw friends don't share the luxury.
Starting off with his favorite house, Pinfold really nailed the perfect look for the Hufflepuff crest. The crest features beech leaves and a lamb for tolerance and gentleness, along with the trademark Hufflepuff yellow, for generosity. These all surround Hufflepuff's house mascot, the Badger.
The Gryffindor house crest features a unicorn for purity and antlers for agility and strength. These symbols accompany the traditional lion on a red background symbolizing military strength. Surely Harry would approve of the stag, which is his and his father's patronus.
The Snake featured in the Slytherin crest is similar to the snakes on the door to the Chamber of Secrets and is one of my favorite illustrations. The snake is accompanied by a cockatrice (mythical creature that is half-dragon and half-rooster) for ferocity and set on a green background that symbolizes endurance. Interestingly, the crest that appears at the top of the Slytherin crest symbolizes glory and honor and has been used in several coats of arms throughout history, including the one of Trinity Hall College, Cambridge.
Ravenclaw's crest features a scroll for scholarship, an owl for wisdom, and a spearhead for cleverness. These symbols surround the raven, historically a symbol for intelligence or future-sight.
Pinfold obviously spent a lot of time delving deep into the character of each house and I have to say, the results are FANTASTIC. The Harry Potter cover illustrations have been redone time and time again in the last 20 years, but I can think of no better way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of what started the worldwide phenomenon than with cover illustrations that celebrate the individuality of each house that played a role in the beginning and the end of the story.
The new editions of the Philosopher's Stone are already available for pre-order. You can get them directly from Bloomsbury or from the Amazon UK website and are set to release June 1st.
