SnitchSeeker.com - J.K. Rowling reveals 4 great North American wandmakers, 1920s Prohibition era

The final chapter in J.K. Rowling's tales about Magic in North America focused on the area during the 1920s, during the backdrop of the upcoming first Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them film.

The story noted the four great wandmakers throughout the area, and how 1920s MACUSA President Seraphina Picquery (played by Carmen Ejogo in Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts) had no problem going against the No-Maj Prohibition era.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Learn about the four wandmakers serving the American magical population in the Roaring 20s: <a href="https://t.co/EEdMJDtIfA">https://t.co/EEdMJDtIfA</a> <a href="https://t.co/FWvkITnLjG">pic.twitter.com/FWvkITnLjG</a></p>— Pottermore (@pottermore) <a href="https://twitter.com/pottermore/status/708291416309538816">March 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Legislation introduced at the end of the nineteenth century meant that every member of the magical community in America was required to carry a ‘wand permit’, a measure that was intended to keep tabs on all magical activity and identify the perpetrators by their wands. Unlike Britain, where Ollivanders was considered unbeatable, the continent of North America was served by four great wandmakers.

Shikoba Wolfe, who was of Chocktaw descent, was primarily famous for intricately carved wands containing Thunderbird tail feathers (the Thunderbird is a magical American bird closely related to the phoenix). Wolfe wands were generally held to be extremely powerful, though difficult to master. They were particulary prized by Transfigurers.

Johannes Jonker, a Muggle-born wizard whose No-Maj father was an accomplished cabinet maker, turned himself into an accomplished wandmaker. His wands were highly sought after and instantly recognisable, as they were usually inlaid with mother-of-pearl. After experimenting with many cores, Jonker’s preferred magical material was hair of the Wampus cat.

Thiago Quintana caused ripples through the magical world when his sleek and usually lengthy wands began entering the market, each encasing a single translucent spine from the back of the White River Monsters of Arkansas and producing spells of force and elegance. Fears about over-fishing of the monsters were assuaged when it was proven that Quintana alone knew the secret of luring them, a secret he guarded jealously until his death, at which point wands containing White River Monster spines ceased production.

Violetta Beauvais, the famous wandmaker of New Orleans, refused for many years to divulge the secret core of her wands, which were always made of swamp mayhaw wood. Eventually it was discovered that they contained hair of the rougarou, the dangerous dog-headed monster that prowled Louisiana swamps. It was often said of Beauvais wands that they took to Dark magic like vampires to blood, yet many an American wizarding hero of the 1920s went into battle armed only with a Beauvais wand, and President Picquery herself was known to possess one.

Unlike the No-Maj community of the 1920s, MACUSA allowed witches and wizards to drink alcohol. Many critics of this policy pointed out that it made witches and wizards rather conspicuous in cities full of sober No-Majs. However, in one of her rare light-hearted moments, President Picquery was heard to say that being a wizard in America was already hard enough. ‘The Gigglewater’, as she famously told her Chief of Staff, ‘is non-negotiable.’