R & R Auction has five letters from J. R. R. Tolkien open for bidding, ending May 9th.

https://www.rrauction.com/browse_gallery.cfm?SearchCrit=Tolkien&Category=&SortOrder=item&InvPage=1&ByItem=

I'll add some thoughts later this evening, but these are some very interesting letters, most hand written.

https://www.rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=107
TLS, one page, 7 x 9, personal letterhead, December 16, 1963
ALS, two pages both sides, 7 x 9, blindstamped personal letterhead, [December 16, 1963]
Estimate: $15,000+

https://www.rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=108
Extraordinary pairing of letters from Tolkien to Mary Fairburn, an artist who sent him paintings of several scenes from Lord of the Rings:
TLS, one page, 7 x 9, personal letterhead, May 24, 1968
ALS, two pages both sides, 5.25 x 7, personal letterhead, October 10, 1968
Also includes on of Fairburn’s original Lord of the Rings sketches, showing the castle at Minas Tirith, accomplished in pencil on a white 11.5 x 16.5 sheet. Signed in the lower right corner in pencil, “Fairburn.”
Estimate: $12,000+

https://www.rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=109
ALS, one page both sides, 5.25 x 7, personal letterhead, January 7, 1960. Letter to K. F. Mawson in Wakefield
Estimate: $15,000+

https://www.rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=110
ALS, one page both sides, 4.5 x 7, Merton College letterhead, October 22, 1955. Letter to "Mr. Mitchell," about reading Lord of the Rings.
Estimate: $5,000+

https://www.rrauction.com/bidtracker_detail.cfm?IN=111
TLS, one page, 7 x 9, personal letterhead, May 9, 1967. Letter of thanks to British Ambassador Oscar Morland at The High Hall.
Estimate: $3,000+

Two pieces of original artwork are open for bidding in the Comics & Comic Art Signature Auction - Chicago #7187 ending May 12, 2018 that may be of interest here.

Alan Lee Castles Illustration Original Art (1984). This gorgeous painting by Lord of the Rings artist Alan Lee features a hooded rider that looks suspiciously like Strider. Painted many years before his reputation was cemented as the pre-eminent Tolkien artist. Produced in watercolor on heavy paper. Matted and framed out to 23" x 16" with an inner mat opening of 16" x 11". Signed and dated by Lee in pencil. In Excellent condition.

Greg Hildebrandt and Tim Hildebrandt Smith of Wootton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham Paperback Cover Original Art (Ballantine Books, circa 1974-75). For fantasy fans, the names of Greg and Tim Hildebrandt will forever be linked to the works of fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien, thanks to the brothers' world-famous visual interpretations of the Tolkien characters. Here, the Brothers Hildebrandt present a wonderfully whimsical scene based on J. R. R. Tolkien's story, "Farmer Giles of Ham" for what was their first published, Tolkien-inspired work. This delightful cover illustration, with its superb artistic nod to the style of classic illustrator Maxfield Parrish, captures the mood of Tolkien's ribald mock-heroic tale perfectly. "When a 'cunning, inquisitive, greedy, well-armored but not overly bold' dragon invades the kingdom, a most unwilling Farmer Giles is chosen to slay the dragon... a dragon who refuses to fight!" This fabulous piece has an image area of 12.5" x 21.5", and the art is in Excellent condition. The illustration was signed at the lower right.

Because many people are asking what's new in the second edition of the Reader's Guide, I did a quick comparison of the online topic lists provided by Wayne and Christina - first edition topic list is here, and second edition topic list is here.

Note that pretty much all topics were at least touched upon, if not significantly enhanced - this post is not meant to show all of the topics that changed - just new ones that were added to the second edition, or topics moved elsewhere marked by topic.

A
* The 'Alphabet of Dairon'
* The 'Ambidexters Sentence'
* ‘Analysis of fragments of other languages found in The Lord of the Rings’ [new edition: The Lord of the Rings, p. 726 and Words, Phrases and Passages in The Lord of the Rings, pp. 1441-2]
* The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
* The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
* Atlakviða
* Authorial Presence

B
* Barnett, Allen
* Barrie, James Matthew
* The Battle of Maldon
* Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary Together with The Sellic Spell
* Beren and Lúthien (book)
* ‘The Bodleian Declensions’
* Bowra, Cecil Maurice
* Brown, Walter Rolfe
* Buchan, John
* Buckhurst, Helen Thérèse McMillan

C
* Carroll, Lewis
* A Closed Letter to Andrea Charicoryides . . . Sometimes Known as Charles Williams 
* Collingwood, Robin George
* Common Eldarin Noun: Structure 
* ‘Common Quendian Declension’
* Comparative Tables 
* The Complaint of Mîm the Dwarf 
* Composition, Manner of
* The Corrigan
* Cowling, George Herbert

D
* De Zulueta, Francis
* Declension of Nouns 

E
* The Elvish Alphabets
* ‘Elvish Reincarnation’ [new edition: Some Notes on 'Rebirth']
* ‘The Entu, Ensi, Enta Declension’
* ‘Essay on Phonetic Symbolism’
* Essays Presented to Charles Williams 

F
* Fairbank, Christian Albert Hastings
* The Fall of Arthur (poem)
* The Fall of Arthur (book)
* ‘Fate and Free Will’ (notes)
* Fate and free will (topic)
* The Feanorian Alphabet 
* Field, Geoffrey Simpson
* Firth, Charles Harding
* Freston, Hugh Reginald
* Free will and Fate [new edition: Fate and free will]

G
* Gale, St Teresa [new edition: St Teresa Gale]
* Gawain’s Leave-taking 
* ‘The Gnomish Lexicon Slips’
* ‘Goldogrin Pronomial Prefixes’
* Gordon, Robert Hope

H
* Hall, William Ernest
* Henry Bradley, 3 Dec., 1845–23 May, 1923 
* The History of The Hobbit

I
* ‘Introduction to the “Elder Edda”’

J
* J.R.R. Tolkien’s Letters to Rhona Beare 

K
* Kainendan 
* Kalevala (including The Story of Kullervo)
* ‘The Koivienéni Manuscript’

L
* The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (book)
* The Lay of Beowulf 
* The Lay of the Children of Húrin
* The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (including Völsungakviða en nýja and Guðrúnarkviða en nýja

M
* McIntosh, Angus
* Mackreth, John
* Maps
* Mary Michael
* Massiah-Palmer, Werner William Thomas
* Measures, Alfred Ernest
* Mitton family
* Mountain family

N
* Newcastle upon Tyne
* Noel
* Notes for Qenya Declensions 
* Nouns

O
* ‘Old English Verse’
* On Ælfwine’s Spelling
* On ‘The Kalevala’ or Land of Heroes
* Oxford Poetry 1915

P
* ‘The Plotz Declension’
* Primitive Quendian Structure 
* ‘The Problem of Lhûn’
* The Prophecy of the Sibyl 

Q
* ‘Qenya Conjugations’
* ‘Qenya Declensions’
* Qenya Grammar 
* ‘Qenya Word-Lists’
* Quenya: Outline of Phonology 
* Quenya Verb Structure 

R
* Rattenbury, R.M.
* Realities: An Anthology of Verse
* Rhodes, Philip Grafton Mole
* Romanticism

S
* The Seafarer
* A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages (book)
* Sellic Spell 
* Shakespeare, Donald William Edward, known as Anthony
* Shakespeare, William
* Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (W.P. Ker Lecture)
* Some Notes on ‘Rebirth’
* Staples, Osric Osmumd
* The Story of Kullervo (book)



T
* Tengwesta Qenderinwa
* St Teresa Gale
* Thompson, Francis
* Thompson, Louis Lionel Harry
* Tolhurst, Bernard Joseph
* Tolhurst, Denis Anthony
* Tolkien Estate
* ‘Tom Bombadil: A Prose Fragment’
* Trimingham, Harold Gilbert Lutyens
* ‘The “Turin Wrapper”’ 

W
* Wagner, Richard Wilhelm
* The Wanderer
* Windle, Michael William Maxwell
* Winter’s Tales for Children I
* Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings 

This month the Galician publisher Sushi Books has published a deluxe edition of The Hobbit (in Galician, O hobbit). It is a language spoken in the Northwest of Spain by about 2,4 million people. I am so proud of having this work in the language of my father, my grandpa and my foreparents.
Here the pictures. What do you think?

These are reportedly coming "this spring". I like the new look!