Tolkien (J.R.R.) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 13th impression, 1963; The Two Towers, 10th impression, 1963; The Return of the King, 10th impression, 1963, folding map at end of each, bookplates of Suzanne Eward, all edges gilt, original black cloth, spines lettered in gilt, 8vo, together with The Hobbit, 5th impression, 1970, and The Silmarillion, 1st edition, 1977, with two letters to Suzanne Eward from J.R.R. Tolkien, one a 2 pp. autograph letter dated April 23 1972 on Merton College Oxford headed paper donating the above Lord of the Rings and Hobbit to Gloucester Cathedral Library, "I protest that your letter seemed to me neither an impertinence nor a presumption, but a very high compliment. All the more welcome as coming from Gloucester. My love is given above all other regions to the 'West Midlands', in which I lived as a child. My mother belonged to a Worcestershire family; my wife to one of Staffordshire, though she was actually born in Gloucester, and later lived for some years in Cheltenham... I will certainly present copies of any of my works which the Dean and Chapter think worthy of Including in their library. I suggest that copies of each of the 3 vols of the Revised Edition would be more suitable than the later 1 vol. edn. on India paper. Also that this should be accompanied by a copy of The Hobbit: in the reprint of the edn. with coloured illustrations (which was mostly burned up in the Blitz of London)... With regards to signature, to avoid the trouble and expense of postages I usually send inscribed labels of which I enclose a specimen... with best wishes, yours sincerely J.R.R. Tolkien", with the signed label, inscribed "Presented to the Gloucester Cathedral Library by J.R.R. Tolkien" folds and a few minor spots to the letter; the other letter a 1 pp. typed letter signed, dated 5th May 1972, stating that he had ordered from publishers Allen & Unwin the three volumes of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to be sent to the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester Cathedral Library, plus four signed labels (not present here), and a postscript "I am sorry that it is not possible to find copies of the first editions for presentation", folds and a few spots, both letters contained in the original envelopes

(Qty: 7)

The recipient of the books and letters was Suzanne Mary Edward, former Librarian and Keeper of the Muniments at Gloucester Cathedral and Wells, and latterly at Salisbury Cathedral.

Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Fellowship of the Ring, 8th impression, 1959, folding map at end, top edge red, original red cloth, 8vo

(Qty: 1)

Signed by the author on a small blank sheet of paper tipped-in to half title

Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 5th impression, 1956; The Two Towers, 2nd impression, 1955; The Return of the King, 2nd impression, 1955, folding map at end of each, previous owner signature to Fellowship front endpaper, a couple of small stains to one or two endpapers, top edges red, original red cloth gilt, dust jackets, some fading to spine lettering, a few chips, tears and stains, 8vo

(Qty: 3)

JRR Tolkien, creator of the Hobbit - Great Lives
Tuesday 7th December 2021 16:30 GMT



John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein in 1892. Orphaned before he was a teenager, he fought at the Somme in World War One before going on to become one of the best-selling authors of all time. Bilbo, Gandalf, Gollum, Frodo, Sauron - these are just a few of the famous characters he created for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Nominating Tolkien - an Oxford University professor - is the popular historian, Niall Ferguson. He aims to rescue Tolkien from the hippies, who, he says, claimed Tolkien as their own. "The fascinating thing to me about Tolkien is that his sensibility is so profoundly conservative - with a small 'c'. ...when you look at the man's politics, he was such a reactionary!" Presenter Matthew Parris, who doesn't believe in elves or dwarves, is not so sure that the fantasy author deserves to be rescued. With additional help and guidance from Malcolm Guite.

Niall Ferguson is senior fellow of the Hoover Institution and author of Empire: How Britain made the Modern World.
The producer for BBC Audio in Bristol is Ellie Richold.

Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Return of the King, first edition, folding map, small library stamp to title and front endpaper, original cloth, slightly soiled, spine toned and a little worn, 1955; The Fellowship of the Ring, fifth impression, upper hinge weak, original cloth, slightly soiled, spine head and extremities rubbed, 1956; The Hobbit, third impression, colour frontispiece, ink ownership inscription to front endpaper, 1942; The Lord of the Rings, 3 vol., 3 folding maps, bookplates to front pastedowns, original cloth, dust-jackets, 1971, 8vo (6)

⁂ Return of the King with signature mark '4' and text block sagging.

Tolkien (J.R.R.)Bilbo en Hobbits Äventyr, first Tove Jansson-illustrated edition, illustrations by Tove Jansson, several full-page, previous owner's ink signature to front free endpaper, original cloth-backed illustrated boards, lightly faded at edges, as usual, slight bumping to spine extremities, 8vo, Stockholm, Rabén & Sjögren, 1962.

TOLKIEN, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1954-1955. 3 vols. First editions, all volumes signed by Tolkien on the front-free endpapers, 8vo (221 x 137mm.) 3 folding maps to rear. (Browning to endpapers of volume 2, light spotting to endpapers of volumes 1 and 3, toning, the map in 'The Return of the King' replaced with one from a later edition.) Original red cloth (some sunning and staining to spines, lightly bumped spine ends). Note: 'The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'The Two Towers' are second impressions, 'The Return of the King' is a first impression. It has the '4' signature on p.49 and the slipped text. The second impression of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' has always been notably (2 or 3mm) smaller than other impressions. A possible reason is that the printer, Jarrold & Son, did not keep the type standing from the first impression and so when the publisher, Allen & Unwin, asked for another impression the printer had to quickly re-set the type, which led to many new inaccuracies in the text, as well as a slightly different sized binding. [Hammond, 97.].

RARE photographs and correspondence from the author of Lord of the Rings are to be sold by Colchester auctioneers next month.

The official archive of JRR Tolkien’s photographer, Pamela Chandler, is estimated to have a combined value of between £20,000 and £30,000.

It will be auctioned by Reeman Dansie, which is based in Wyncolls Road in Severalls Business Park, Colchester, on Wednesday, December 1.

Mrs Chandler’s body of work extended far beyond Tolkien, however.

She was the first woman invited to Downing Street to take official photographs of a sitting Prime Minister when she photographed Harold MacMillan in 1960.

In 1957, at the age of just 29, she also took unofficial portraits of the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Mrs Chandler’s success led her to work closely with JRR Tolkien – who also wrote The Hobbit, among other works.

The portfolio of her work to be sold at the auction in December will include much of her professional output, including photographs of pedigree dogs, first edition books, vintage photographs, and correspondence from notable figures, including letters from JRR Tolkien.