Can a chair become valuable if it is used by a famous person? In the early 1900s, people often put a name plate on a chair that had been used in their home by a president or king. Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling, used a 1930s oak chair and donated it to a charity auction in 2002 after she painted it with the pink, gold and green words, “You may not find me pretty but don’t judge on what you see.” It brought about $2,100. The chair was sold again in 2009 for $29,117. On April 6, 2016, it was sold again by Heritage Auctions for $394,000. The author had sold over 450 million books and adapted the books for eight films. Her fame made the old chair a treasure.