Bound in brown morocco leather, and mounted with hand-chased silver ornaments and seven moonstones, the volume of five stories is one of just seven individual copies - each quite different from the other - hand-written and illustrated by JK Rowling. In a dedication written in the front of the book, she says: “Six of these books have been given to those most closely connected to the Harry Potter books during the last 17 years. This seventh copy will be auctioned; the proceeds to help institutionalised children who are in desperate need of a voice. So to whoever now owns this book, thank you – and fair fortune be yours!”

Sotheby’s believe that the work will realise a price in the region of £30,000-50,000. All proceeds from the sale will enable The Children’s Voice to transform the lives of thousands of vulnerable children. The charity campaigns for child rights  across Europe – particularly Eastern Europe – where over a million children and teenagers are growing up in institutions, often in unacceptable conditions. One of its central aims is to move children out of institutions and into loving families, by building systems to ensure parents can care for their own children and by improving national fostering and adoption programmes for children who are separated from their families.

A special auction catalogue will be produced for The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which will be available to pre-order online at www.sothebys.com or by calling +44 207 293 6444. Copies will also be available at Sotheby’s galleries in London and New York. The catalogue will be priced at £8 by mail order and £6 in the galleries. All profits from its sale will also be donated to The Children’s Voice.