Tolkien's personal stationary was Basildon Bond for many years (during late 50's and 60's and possibly later).

I'm interested in anything and everything about Tolkien - I hadn't heard this before, so forgive my asking again - can you tell us where this info comes from?

Can I ask why you say that the letters ought to have a Basildon Bond watermark?

Here's another 'leather' set.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JRR-Tolkien-ori ... 65%3A10|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Really great site - must bring my own list of calendars up to date.
BTW - I have a copy of the 1994 Jimmy Cauty poster calendar. Can't remember where I bought it, though; and, sadly, it was used so - drawing-pin holes! Agh!

:)

I remember buying my copy, in 1999 (I shan't say how much it cost). It caused a bit of a stir at the time; because up till then it hadn't been generally known that CT had signed the first 100. A friend of mine wrote to Rayner Unwin, calling it 'a previously unrecorded variant', and got a nice letter in reply, saying that I was not to worry; he vaguely remembered sending Christopher a batch of labels to sign, and he supposed that must have been it!

:)