ToHarry Potterfans , the rare books board atthe New York Academy of Medicinemay feel familiar . Musty leather - bound books line the walls behind screens ; moldings of griffins adorn the plaster of Paris ceiling ; a big cat skeleton with arched vertebrae crouches on a bookshelf . Stepping inside the room feels like you ’ve apparated to Hogwarts .
Anne Garner , the conservator of rare books and manuscripts at the academy , is well cognisant of the similarities . But she did n’t realize just how deep they ran until trip up upon a card catalogue labeled " witchcraft " in the archives . " When I saw the card catalogue , the connection with people saying this room feel like Hogwarts sort of clicked , " she said at a press event .
That was the impetus behind the library ’s raw digital collection , " How to return Your O.W.L at Hogwarts : A Prep Course , " which spotlight real texts from the rare books elbow room and matches them to fictional class taught at Hogwarts . While much of J.K. Rowling ’s world is her own invention , many of the puppet , objects , and even citizenry she spell about are countermand from European story and mythology . Garner search for these real - life inspirations when selecting books to feature in the virtual library .
The " Potions " section , for example , includes a description of a bezoar , the same ruminal hairball that Harry run to a poison Ron inThe Half Blood Prince . One book under " Transfiguration of Jesus " mentions Nicolas Flamel , the actual figure who ’s credit with create the philosopher ’s stone in the firstHarry Potterbook .
The digital collection is filled with vivacious illustrations dating back to the fifteenth C . Books in " Care of Magical Creatures " depict basilisk and unicorn alongside snakes and Monodon monoceros ( or “ unicorns of the sea , ” as they were love centuries ago ) . " One of the matter I love aboutHarry Potteris that it presents us with this world that ’s very familiar but at the same clock time totally upends our estimate about nature , " Garner articulate . She consider this reflected in many books write prior to the twentieth century . " You find thing that are grounded in realness and things that are total fantasy . "
Like theHarry Potterseries , these books often look at elements from the natural world through a antic lens . When describing mandrakes , an encyclopedia of instinctive history depicts the material plants as tiny creatures with human bodies and leaves burgeon forth from their read/write head . It even instructs readers to don earmuffs before glean them — just like Harry watch to do in his Herbology course of instruction .
The New York Academy of Medicine was established in 1847 as a public health establishment , and today it ’s home to one of the most impressive historical libraries of music in the world . The rare record book elbow room is opened to the world by appointment , and a special display of books in the Harry Potter collection may be extend in the dear future tense . For now , the choice textbook are uncommitted online . " How to Pass Your O.W.L at Hogwarts " goes live on Monday , June 26 , just in sentence for the 20 - year anniversary ofHarry Potter and the Philosopher ’s Stone . Muggles can chew the fat the honorary society ’s site to live over Harry ’s literary experiences — minus the pungent and scream textbooks .
