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BnF Exhibition, October 22 2019 through 16 February 2020
BnF Exhibition, October 22 2019 through 16 February 2020
Oct 6
(edited)
[Updated Oct 9 to correct a mis-dating of the "Long Expected Party" draft]
It has been a great year or two for Tolkien exhibitions, with the Bodleian Library (2018) and the Morgan Library (early 2019) showing "Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth", and now the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) with the exhibition "Tolkien, Voyage to Middle-earth".
The BnF exhibition is much larger than the two preceding ones - the space being estimated at 1000 square meters - with approximately 300 items coming from the Bodleian collection, the Marquette collection, and a number of selections from the BnF collection of historical and artistic items giving additional context for Tolkien's creations. A significant number of Tolkien original art and manuscript exhibits were not shown in "Maker of Middle-earth", so the BnF event is not one to be skipped if you can possibly make it to Paris in the next few months.
The exhibition layout is broken into sections covering specific geographic regions and storylines, with original writings and illustrations from Tolkien, alongside literary, cultural, and linguistic material relating to Tolkien's works. The sections are announced to be:
Below, with permission, are shown just a small number of items from the forthcoming exhibition.
I Eldanyare : The History of the Elves, 1937-8 © Bodleian Library/ The Tolkien Estate Limited, used with permission
This is a manuscript title page for The Silmarillion from Tolkien's efforts around December 1937 - January 1938, discussed in detail in The Lost Road by Christopher Tolkien, p. 202.
Orthanc I © Bodleian Library/ The Tolkien Estate Limited, used with permission
This illustration of the tower of Orthanc was drawn in 1942, matching the first manuscript descriptions in the draft text of The Lord of the Rings at the time. He went through many iterations of drawings and textual changes before arriving at the description in the final published book. See J.R.R. Tolkien, Artist & Illustrator by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, pp. 166-169 for more information.
Earliest sketch of Minas Tirith, October 1944 Marquette University © The Tolkien Estate Limited/The Tolkien Trust 2019-2020, used with permission
This is the earliest sketch of the city of Minas Tirith from October 1944, with surrounding text giving a brief outline of a description of the city. For more information, see The Art of the Lord of the Rings by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, pp. 140-148.
Book 1, Chapter 1, "A Long-Expected Party", 1939
Marquette University © The Tolkien Estate Limited/ The Tolkien Trust 2019-2020, used with permission
Here is shown a draft first page of The Lord of the Rings in manuscript form, from 1939 after The Hobbit was successfully published and Stanley Unwin was clamoring for a sequel.
Shelob’s Lair © Bodleian Library/ The Tolkien Estate Limited, used with permission
This draft page of the 'Kirith Ungol' sequence, written circa May 1944, shows a detailed sketch of the approach to Shelob's Lair. For more information, see The War of the Rings by Christopher Tolkien, pp. 183-201 and The Art of the Lord of the Rings by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, pp. 124-125.
The exhibition opens to the public on Tuesday, October 22nd, and is open Tuesdays through Sundays until February 16th (closed Mondays). The hours are from 10 AM until 7 PM except on Thursdays when it stays open until 9 PM.
Guided tours are available by reservation. Public tours are on Wednesdays through Fridays and have a fee. There are two sign language tours (December 8 and February 2) that are free. Descriptive tours for the visually impaired are available by request. More information for these guided tours is available here.
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onthetrail wrote:
Seems France24 should have invited Vincent along instead.
I would assume that Vincent is rather busy at the moment. 😉
I have an interview with Vincent and Frédéric lined up next week - anything you guys want me to ask? 😁
Druss wrote:
That's not Vincent who reviewed it, it's me
Ah! My bad. I have fixed the attribution above. 😅
looks to me as if it's on a shelf. Incidentally, this looks like the Bodleian's copy (I've seen it before). Notice - no dust-jacket!
On a shelf, and there is a thin transparent strap about one inch from the right side that you can see that supports it and keeps it from sagging open.
And yes, it is the Bodleian copy. 😉
And yes, it is the Bodleian copy. 😉
JRR Tolkien crowds drive Paris staff to go on strike
France may be the land of existential philosophy, surrealist poetry and romantic fiction, but it has a thing about Hobbits, too — at least judging by the Tolkien exhibition at the country’s national library.
Curators at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris were anticipating a moderate success for their look at the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. None was expecting the event Journey to Middle-earth to prove such a success that staff would walk out in protest at having to work so hard they ended up feeling like Bilbo Baggins after an encounter with goblins.
The one-day strike was called to denounce what unions said were lengthening queues, staff shortages and chaotic conditions facing researchers wanting to study at the library following its transformation into a Tolkien-like realm. The stoppage forced library executives to operate ticket booths to shorten the 90-minute waits.
“We thought there would be a lot of people,” a library spokesman said. “The capacity of the exhibition room was increased to 390 people at a time, and we have put in place evening openings. But it has not been sufficient. There are even more people than we thought.”
The library has posted a message encouraging visitors to book tickets in advance, while employees, following their return to work, have been sent out on to the forecourt to usher through researchers caught in the chaos.
Published in The Times, which is behind a PayWall, have included the relevant parts above.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tol ... to-go-on-strike-j0bkcbg5c
France may be the land of existential philosophy, surrealist poetry and romantic fiction, but it has a thing about Hobbits, too — at least judging by the Tolkien exhibition at the country’s national library.
Curators at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris were anticipating a moderate success for their look at the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. None was expecting the event Journey to Middle-earth to prove such a success that staff would walk out in protest at having to work so hard they ended up feeling like Bilbo Baggins after an encounter with goblins.
The one-day strike was called to denounce what unions said were lengthening queues, staff shortages and chaotic conditions facing researchers wanting to study at the library following its transformation into a Tolkien-like realm. The stoppage forced library executives to operate ticket booths to shorten the 90-minute waits.
“We thought there would be a lot of people,” a library spokesman said. “The capacity of the exhibition room was increased to 390 people at a time, and we have put in place evening openings. But it has not been sufficient. There are even more people than we thought.”
The library has posted a message encouraging visitors to book tickets in advance, while employees, following their return to work, have been sent out on to the forecourt to usher through researchers caught in the chaos.
Published in The Times, which is behind a PayWall, have included the relevant parts above.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tol ... to-go-on-strike-j0bkcbg5c
The thing is that the exhibition opened during holidays (between 19 oct. and 4 nov.). It explains a part of the success, with 1000 visitors on average and up to 1800 some days during these period. It will probably slow down a bit, now.
Druss wrote:
The thing is that the exhibition opened during holidays (between 19 oct. and 4 nov.). It explains a part of the success, with 1000 visitors on average and up to 1800 some days during these period. It will probably slow down a bit, now.
At €11 per entry, that's a lot of great support for the BnF! 😁
Also, I think everyone will be surprised with the sheer scope of the final attendance numbers when all is said and done. I am surprised that the staff for all three exhibitions have been surprised with how popular the exhibitions are. 😉