Take a First Look at the Last Harry Potter

by Shannon Maughan -- Publishers Weekly, 3/28/2007 5:38:00 AM

Fans got their first look at the jacket artwork for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this morning. Scholastic released the image by Mary GrandPré, who also created the artwork for all previous U.S. editions of Rowling’s books. For the first time ever, the jacket image is a full wrap-around. On the front of the book, Harry appears in the foreground of a Coliseum-like structure that has suffered what Scholastic’s art director characterizes as "evident destruction," while shadows of other people can be seen in the background. He’s reaching upward toward an ominous orange-yellow sky. A look at the full spread, including back cover, reveals Harry’s skeletal nemesis, He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, blood-red eyes peering from his cloak, reaching out toward the young wizard. Let the speculation begin: a battle to the death? The end of Hogwarts? The end of the world? The theories are sure to run rampant as readers analyze the jacket for clues about Rowling’s final installment of the series, set to run 784 pages with a record-setting printing of 12 million copies. 114 days and counting….

See below for the full cover spread of the U. S. version of the book.  And here is the British cover from Bloomsbury.