Hi fellows,

I've been trying to find which catalogue that featured a description of a letter from JRRT to Miss R. Turnbull, dated March 11, 1949. The only info I have is that the catalogue was printed by Sotheby's in 1991. Maybe the letter has circulated in earlier (and later) auctions too?

The Sotheby's catalogue was for their sale of English Literature and History in London on 18 July 1991. It reproduced one page from Tolkien's letter of 11 March 1949, and quoted from other Tolkien letters, including two more to Miss Turnbull (2 and 19 May 1955). Brief excerpts from two of the letters, including that for 1949, were published the following year in Catalogue 16 of R.A. Gekoski, London. Two and a half of the 3-1/2 pages of the 1949 letter, and longer excerpts, were published in 1995 in Catalogue Three of Gerard A.J. Stodolski, Manchester, New Hampshire.

To the best of my knowledge, the 1991 Sotheby's catalogue (Hammond bibliography Dii81) is the earliest offer of the 11 March 1949 letter for sale. I don't know if it was offered in any printed catalogue later than Stodolski's in 1995. I believe that the letter is currently in private hands (alas, not mine).

Wayne

Thank you very much! (Wayne, would you mind if I use some of this info on the wiki Tolkien Gateway? We're slowly working on a list and individual articles of rare or unpublished JRRT letters)