Before we get to the details of this beautiful Harry Potter Thai boxed set let’s go back in time. In March and April 2020 American news sites shared photos of the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter Thai edition covers. We at Magical-Menagerie have been waiting for their release since the illustrator, APOLAR, posted a preview of the first cover in October 2019.
MM owner Megan has been collecting different editions of the Harry Potter books for years – mainly US and UK (and buys a copy or two on international trips.) She stopped recently because there were too many being released. But, once the Harry Potter Thai Edition was announced, it immediately made it on her “must-have” list.
The publisher of this unique set, Nanmee Books, began taking pre-orders in January 2020. Fans are able to buy the books separately or in paperback and hardcover boxed sets. Those that pre-ordered the hardcover set also received 8 bookmarks, 8 postcards, a tote bag and a hanging ornament.
I made sure that I put all my effort, my heart and my soul into this project as I would like this version to be like a love letter from fan to fan.
Apolar via wizardingworld.com
The bookmarks feature some of our favorite characters – Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna and Draco! Postcards included all 7 covers as well as a new illustration of Harry and Hagrid in Diagon Alley. A tote bag showcased the covers of Philosopher’s Stone as well as Chamber of Secrets and the 20th anniversary logo. The hanging ornament is actually a mini book with pop-up pages.
(click images to view larger)
The best part of the hardcover set is the box itself. It unfolds for a two-sided masterpiece. One side shows the house colors, animals and the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. The sides of the box show Harry, Draco, Cho and Cedric in their Quidditch uniforms. The opposite shows a stunning view of inside Hogwarts castle with “windows” showing different scenes and characters. It is easy to get lost for hours viewing all the details.
Not one spot in this special boxed set went untouched. Tiny details from the icons inside the box to the delicate moon shape the pages make are everywhere. Illustrations are sprinkled throughout the books.
(click images to view larger)
Harry Potter Thai Ordering Information
Nanmee Books published the new Harry Potter Thai editions on May 11th. Since we’re in the US it took them a few months to get to us via international shipping. It was worth the wait!
The paperback set retails for 3,950 baht and the hardcover set is 4,950. Shipping to the USA was 1,490 bringing the grand total for our Harry Potter Thai Hardcover boxed set to 6,440. This works out to about $205 when we bought the set.
Note: They may be offering other shipping options now, but we were told 2-3 months for delivery when we pre-ordered the set.
View all the options for purchasing here. Fans outside Thailand wishing to order the books will need to email Nanmee Books directly at contact@nanmeebooks.com. You can also message them on Instagram. (tell them Magical-Menagerie.com sent you!)
Interviews with the Illustrator
In an interview with a local website, artist Arch-Arus Engchuan (Apolar) talked about his process for illustrating 200 images for the books. We translated the quotes so they may not make perfect sense.
When drawing the characters, I try to find the middle value between the realistic and the cartoon because if the cartoon is too much, it will look too young. The color tone is classic, looks ancient. Saturation of the color is not very high and in the set of 7 books, the cover will switch shades between light and dark like playing with day and night because J.K. Rowling Clever that creates excitement in both modes
When discussing the Philosopher’s Stone cover he states:
The first cover wants to have a festive atmosphere into the world of magic. Therefore choosing to use gold color as a medium I remembered the candle of hope in the school hall, so the Hogwarts played with the candle, and there was a picture of Hagrid holding a lantern. I play with gimmicks, for example, platform number 9¾, I write in Thai numbers. And there’s a picture of the chocolate frog that doesn’t really matter in the story, but these little things make reading fun and take us excitingly into the magical world.
I wanted this edition to be a gift to Thai fans. I wanted to create this edition as a Harry Potter fan would. I tried to convey my love for the Harry Potter books by putting my all into the details of my art. The international publisher and Nanmee allowed me to put some Thai elements into the artwork such as Thai characters and Thai numbers. At first, I was worried that people would not like it since this is a foreign book but, in the end, we figured out how to incorporate them. For example, in the cover of the first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Platform 9 3/4 was redesigned to reflect a Thai number: 9 3/4. I feel like since it’s a Thai edition, there should be some Thainess to it.
We could not agree more! Staying true to the Thai culture really makes this set more unique. Arch’s passion shows in the care he took in creating the artwork.
What do you think of the set? Will you be ordering it?
Finally putting this back up, so annoyed that I lost it, oh well here we go! This time it’s going to be quicker. This week we’ve featured that Harry Potter Special Edition UK Boxed set which I just got in the mail last week!
About: This set of books is truly a beautiful item, the books come in a red box with a red ribbon wrapped around them. Each book has a cloth cover with a small square where the children’s edition cover is placed.
Value: They are expensive right now but I have a feeling that if you keep yours with the plastic wrapping or in PERFECT unread condition opened you will be able to make a large profit out of them when you are really old or your children sell them. 😉
Buy It:Amazon.co.uk is the best place, or you can try eBay but thats more expensive. It’s about $170 right now to get them shipped to the US. BUY THEM!
Rating: 10/10 They are VERY expensive but a great buy for true Potter collectors!
Hey guys! I’ve just updated the photos of my collection in the gallery since I just got my UK Deluxe versions (YAY!) So head over to the gallery and check everything out (there are 12 new photos)! If you see something you want to learn more about you can request it as a Collectible of the Week! Just comment on this story with the item you want me to do! (you will notice some photos have censored areas, I would love to show you what’s under them, but I’m not allowed 😉 )
Sorry I’ve been neglecting the Collectible of the Week segment, but I just started my first full time job so things have been a bit crazy around here. But it will be back starting this weekend!
Sorry I skipped last week, my (university) graduation is coming up so things are a bit coocoo! Anyway, this week I’m showcasing one of Artbox’s many Costume cards; Hermione’s Pink Sweatshirt from Prisoner of Azkaban. (I will be featuring a few of these in the coming weeks) About: This card was made by Artbox who do trading cards for all different movies. They have normal card sets for each movie and then they have special cards which have pieces of props, costumes and some have autographs. This particular card features Hermione’s pink sweatshirt from Prisoner of Azkaban and it was limited to 450 cards.
Value: Since there are only 450 of this card, it is pretty rare and therefore expensive. It goes for a couple hundred dollars on eBay at the most, usually a little under $150.
Buy It: Sadly, you can only find it on eBay. There are a few on eBay with Buy it Now prices right now, here are the links: $55, $149.93, $116.43, $145.55 If you want to buy base sets, special cards from current films, or some odd past cards I recommend Rich’s Cards, that is where I buy all my Artbox cards. You can email and ask what special cards he has and he is very good about emailing and has reasonable prices for the cards.
Rating: 8.5/10 These pieces are really fun, but they can be a bit pricey for such a small piece of movie memorabilia.
Since WB has just released a new limited edition watch, I found it only fitting to feature a watch for Collectible of the Week, the Harry Potter HC0095 Quidditch Trunk Watch!
About: This watch comes in a tin chest made to look like wood with the Hogwarts and House crests printed on it. When you open the case, you see the watch sitting on a Quaffle, a Bludger on either side and a scroll rolled up inside which is a Certificate of Authenticity. The numbers on the watch are in Roman Numerals & a Gryffindor lion in the middle of the watch face. (high resolution photos here, here & here)
Value: This is a pretty expensive item nowadays because it was limited to 1,000. I usually see it for around $150, but there is currently one available for a whopping $255. (and its thanks to this listing that we have our 3rd photo of the watch outside the case)
Buy It: This watch is only available on eBay now, and it is quite pricey, but if you are lucky you might score a deal.
Rating: I rate this 10/10! It is a great item & true collectors piece because of it’s rarity.
This week we have an item of clothing, that I should never have bought, but I splurged when I graduated high school. 😉 The Harry Potter School Crest Jeweled Short Sleeve Jersey by Bejeweled.
About: This t-shirt is a very special item and not many people have it. It may look like a normal Hogwarts Crest T-shirt but actually it is much more than that. Instead of plain black the shirt is black with bits of brown to make it look a bit aged. It also has some brown/tan colored studs (32 to be exact), 13 gold swarovski crystals and 4 red swarovski crystals that have all been hand placed. This shirt is far superior to any other crest shirts in my opinion just because of how the screen-printing looks. The close-up doesn’t do it justice because I had to use my web cam instead of my real camera.
Value: The retail price of the item is $79.99, I know, I know I was CRAZY to pay that much for a t-shirt, but I LOVE it and it is still in perfect condition even though I wear it a lot. So it is a good value for the price. But you can still get the normal crest t-shirts and be just as awesome, so not a must buy.
Buy it: It used to be available on the WB shop but since it was a limited item it is no longer there. You may be able to find it on ebay.
Next
