Harry Potter Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Harry Potter Wiki

"If you seek integrity, search first among the poplars."
— Gerbold Ollivander's maxim[src]

Gerbold Octavius Ollivander (fl. 19th century) was a pure-blood[1] wizard and famously accomplished wandmaker. He was the father of Gervaise Ollivander, and, through him, the paternal grandfather of Garrick Ollivander.[2]

Biography[]

Early life[]

Gerbold Octavius was born into the wizarding Ollivander family in or prior to the 19th century. He reaped the benefits of growing up in the family's wandmaking business. Having taken up the family business in London, Gerbold studied further into wandlore and became highly regarded as an excellent wandmaker. At some point, he also fathered a son, Gervaise, who went on to provide his father with a grandson, Garrick, both of whom continued the family tradition of wandmaking.[2]

Career as a wandmaker[]

"My august grandfather, Gerbold Octavius Ollivander, always called wands of fir 'the survivor's wand,' because he had sold it to three wizards who subsequently passed through mortal peril unscathed."
Garrick Ollivander[src]

Gerbold believed that fir produced "the survivor's wand", as he had sold wands of this wood to three different wizards, each of whom found himself in mortal danger and came out unharmed. He was also fond of saying, "If you seek integrity, search first among the poplars," which his grandson Garrick found correct based on his own experience with poplar wands and their owners. During the nineteenth century, at a time when wands made of silver lime were in vogue, the wandmaker Arturo Cephalopos claimed that the wood's reputed connection with powers of Divination was "a falsehood circulated by merchants like Gerbold Ollivander, who have overstocked their workshops with silver lime and hope to shift their surplus". According to Gerbold's grandson Garrick, however, Cephalopos was "an ignoramus" who predictably went out of business.[2]

1890–1891 school year[]

By the time of the 1890–1891 school year, Gerbold had been maintaining the branch in the village of Hogsmeade in Scotland.[3] There, he continued to make and sell high-quality wands to his customers. This included a Hogwarts student that curiously enough started their schooling five years late.[4]

Gerbold was determined to recover the Ollivander family's heirloom wand, an apple and fairy wing wand that had been in the possession of his family until the 1790s, when it had been stolen and hidden by Richard Jackdaw. It was never recovered because it was later destroyed.[5]

Making the Keepers' wand[]

Gerbold was notified by Professor Eleazar Fig of an upcoming visit from the new fifth-year student that involved the making of a special wand. He suspected that it could only serve a unique purpose and would not be of much use otherwise. When the student visited, they provided him with the materials they had gotten from the Keepers, and Gerbold successfully crafted a wand using them.[6]

Magical abilities and skills[]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 13 images related to Gerbold Ollivander.

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Pure-Blood" at Wizarding World - The Ollivanders are mentioned to have been included in the Pure-Blood Directory published in Britain in the 1930s. The Ollivander Family are stated as being pure-blood; this means that Gerbold must be Pureblood; if he was not, his descendants would not be.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Wand Woods" at Wizarding World
  3. The Art and Making of Hogwarts Legacy (see this image)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Hogwarts Legacy, Main Quest "Welcome to Hogsmeade"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Hogwarts Legacy, Main Quest "Ollivander's Heirloom"
  6. 6.0 6.1 Hogwarts Legacy, Main Quest "Wand Mastery"
  7. IMDb favicon Enn Reitel at the Internet Movie Database
Advertisement