[HPforGrownups] Re: book covers of OoTP

[Patricia Bullington-McGuire]

No: HPFGUIDX 54017

On Thu, 20 Mar 2003, Tyler Hewitt wrote:

> I like the American book cover the best of the three,
> but upon seeing it I immediately started wondering
> what was on the back cover. The back covers of the
> first four books have continuations of the front cover
> art, so I assume the same is true of the OoP cover.

I would also like to see the inside flaps.  If I recall, there was a small
rat (Scabbers/Pettigrew, presumably) hiding on the inside flap of PoA.

> I'm also wondering about the candles. The candles near
> the bottom right corner of the cover are kind of
> ghostly, translucent looking. At first I thought they
> wee somehow on or part of  Harry's robes. Notice also
> how the flame and smoke of all the candles are
> sweeping towards the left. It looks like a breeze is
> blowing them from the right, or maybe the movement of
> Harry's arm is causing it. Harry is looking back
> behind his shoulder, in the direction the breeze would
> be coming from, almost as if he is startled by
> something behind him.

Judging by the highlights in Harry's hair and the lighting on his face,
there appears to be some light source up and to the right behind him.  
Harry seems to be looking directly at it.  This could also be the
direction the breeze is coming from.  On the other hand, the candles in
the background are blowing the in the opposite direction.  Perhaps there
is a whirlwind effect.  


On Thu, 20 Mar 2003, erisedstraeh2002 wrote:

> Julie wrote:
> 
> > But to me it looks as though the room is actually spinning, and 
> > therefore the breeze?
> 
> Me again:
> 
> That looks more to me like the swoosh of Harry bringing his wand up 
> (look at how there is a sweep that follows what one could perceive as 
> his rising hand motion) - but perhaps that swoosh is creating the 
> breeze that's rippling the candle flames?

It seems unlikely to me that simply raising an arm would affect so many
candles so uniformly, even candles behind him and on the opposite side of
his body from the raised arm.

> Julie again: 
> 
> > Also, is there something reflected in Harry's glasses?  Is there a 
> > way to magnify the image to find this out?
> 
> Me again:
> 
> I see sparkly stuff in his hair and on his glasses, but I'm at a loss 
> to explain it (but it's very pretty!).

I think those are higlights/reflected light from the unseen light source
and from the candles.

> Some other things I noticed - the expression on Harry's face looks 
> intent and determined, rather than fearful or angry.  

I agree.  I could see calling his expression "wary" or "inquiring," but he
certainly doesn't see to be overwhelmed by emotion of any sort.

> I'm also not 
> convinced that the room is circular - it could just be the 
> perspective the artist is showing us.

I think the room may be a tower.  The ceiling is hard to make out, but it 
appears to me to be made up of pointed triangular pieces, like you would 
see on a turret.  On the other hand, the picture looks like it could be a 
bit fish-eyed around the edges, lending credence to the theory that what 
we are seeing is a reflection in a mirror.


----
Patricia Bullington-McGuire	<patricia at obscure.org>

The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered
three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the
purely hypothetical.  They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each
nonexisted in an entirely different way ... 
                -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad"