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Ollivander presents wand

Garrick Ollivander, a famous, well regarded wandmaker, offers a wand to a young Harry Potter

A wandmaker was a person who constructed and sold wands for witches and wizards and was thus an important occupation in wizarding society. The practice of making a wand was known as wandcraft.[1]

A related occupation was the wandkeeper, though it is unclear whether this was merely another term for wandmaker or a separate occupation. Regardless, one such example was an associate of Garrick Ollivander's working at the shop's Hogsmeade branch.[2]

Description[]

A wandmaker used wood and cores found in the wizarding world to construct a magical instrument to conduct magic through. Wandmakers used a variety of wood and cores based upon their personal research and preference, and used wood and core found in their land. For example, wandmakers in the United States of America used Thunderbird feather and Rougarou hair[3], but wandmakers in Britain used Phoenix feather and Unicorn hair.[4]

It was considered a "complex and mysterious branch of magic".[1]

Interestingly, one did not have to be a witch or wizard to be a wandmaker, Non-magic people were capable of making wands as well, as evidenced by the American No-Maj James Steward.

History[]

The earliest known wandmakers were druids, who thought any plant that had a woody stem could be used in wandmaking.[5] In Britain at least, it was normal for the purchaser of a wand to provide their own core or request something specific, generally a traditional or well-liked substance.[4]

Wandmaking shops were known to date back to the establishment of Ollivanders in 382 B.C. The family had travelled from a Mediterranean country in Roman times and set up a stall in what would eventually be Diagon Alley. A descendant, Garrick Ollivander became a renowed wandmaker and he forsook the concept of witches and wizards procuring their own wand core, because he thought their wands were usually unrefined.[4]

He claimed to have found more success in doing so. He researched the best wand cores and found the best wand wood to complement it, and rather have a purchaser select their wand, he let the wand choose the purchaser.[4] From the 13th century, there was a story that Death had created the Elder Wand for Antioch Peverell. It was told in The Tales of Beedle the Bard.[6]

In the United States of America, there were four renowned wandmakers using cores and wood native to their country. Isolt Sayre was the earliest known wandmaker in America. Shikoba Wolfe used Thunderbird tail feather, Johannes Jonker used Wampus cat hair, Thiago Quintana used White River Monster spine, but this went out of fashion, and Violetta Beauvais used Rougarou hair.[3]

Known wandmakers[]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

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