This is an uncommon new addition I just received that I don't think I've seen shared on here: a first edition of Speculum Norroenum, which is a festschrift published in memory of Gabriel (E.O.G.) Turville-Petre. Turville-Petre was a student of Tolkien's and collaborated with Christopher Tolkien on several scholarly publications. His wife, Joan, later produced an edited version of Tolkien's translation of the Old English Exodus. It's a decently hefty book at just over 500 pages. Flipping through the book, it appears to contain articles in English, German, and Icelandic. I have not had a chance to read any yet.
The book is dedicated to Turville-Petre by a long list of scholars and institutions. I'm assuming these are the original purchasers of copies when the book was published. Christopher Tolkien is one of those listed.
At the back of the book, credit is given to Christopher Tolkien, along with several organizations, for making a donation to help cover the cost of the publication process. Additionally, tucked into the last page was a loose addendum card that added an additional donor.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the copy I bought came with an original receipt directly from the publisher. This identifies the purchaser as Robert Priestley from Melbourne, whose name is printed in the book as one of those dedicating the book to Turville-Petre.
In researching who Priestley was (he apparently went by "Bob"), I discovered this wonderful anecdote (link here: https://meanjin.com.au/memoir/in-fealty-to-a-professor/) from Ann Sedgley, a student at the University of Melbourne, about when Turville-Petre visited Australia to teach for two terms at the university.
"Professor Turville-Petre was little, stooped, bald, with jug ears and a slow, beautiful smile. You had the feeling that asking him a question yanked him back from some other world—he would answer very precisely and literally, with respect for the person who asked the question even when it was foolish. He had worked at Oxford with J.R.R. Tolkien, and, having recently read The Lord of the Rings with great enthusiasm, I asked Professor Turville-Petre what he thought of it. It was all right, he said gently, but perhaps a misuse of his talents: ‘In the time it took him to write Lord of the Rings, he could have brought out a truly definitive edition of Beowulf.’"
Thank goodness he took the time to write Lord of the Rings, but I do share Professor Turville-Petre's disappointment that Tolkien did not end up also preparing a truly definitive edition of Beowulf!
The book is dedicated to Turville-Petre by a long list of scholars and institutions. I'm assuming these are the original purchasers of copies when the book was published. Christopher Tolkien is one of those listed.
At the back of the book, credit is given to Christopher Tolkien, along with several organizations, for making a donation to help cover the cost of the publication process. Additionally, tucked into the last page was a loose addendum card that added an additional donor.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the copy I bought came with an original receipt directly from the publisher. This identifies the purchaser as Robert Priestley from Melbourne, whose name is printed in the book as one of those dedicating the book to Turville-Petre.
In researching who Priestley was (he apparently went by "Bob"), I discovered this wonderful anecdote (link here: https://meanjin.com.au/memoir/in-fealty-to-a-professor/) from Ann Sedgley, a student at the University of Melbourne, about when Turville-Petre visited Australia to teach for two terms at the university.
"Professor Turville-Petre was little, stooped, bald, with jug ears and a slow, beautiful smile. You had the feeling that asking him a question yanked him back from some other world—he would answer very precisely and literally, with respect for the person who asked the question even when it was foolish. He had worked at Oxford with J.R.R. Tolkien, and, having recently read The Lord of the Rings with great enthusiasm, I asked Professor Turville-Petre what he thought of it. It was all right, he said gently, but perhaps a misuse of his talents: ‘In the time it took him to write Lord of the Rings, he could have brought out a truly definitive edition of Beowulf.’"
Thank goodness he took the time to write Lord of the Rings, but I do share Professor Turville-Petre's disappointment that Tolkien did not end up also preparing a truly definitive edition of Beowulf!
A handful of new additions since Christmas. Nothing too spectacular. I was happy to finally get the hardcover of Artist and Illustrator. Gordon's Introduction to Old Norse is a 1st/1st, which I had been hunting for for a while. And The Man of Law's Tale is in such good condition it feels like the book just came off the printer. I was very excited when I opened it to see its excellent condition. The Sisam is just a 1950 reprint that I grabbed because it had a dustjacket in great condition.
My end of the year update with recent additions. I’ve had a more limited budget (and more limited time to search) this year so wasn’t able pick up much that was rare. Only real notable item is Essays and Studies XIV, but I was happy to finally get some books that had been sitting on my wishlist for a while like the 2nd Edition of Beowulf and the Critics as well as Maker of Middle-earth.
Merry Christmas to the great community here - I hope you all enjoy the holidays, and here’s to finding more great Tolkien finds in the new year!
Merry Christmas to the great community here - I hope you all enjoy the holidays, and here’s to finding more great Tolkien finds in the new year!
A few new additions since the beginning of the year. Some notables:
1st/1st Battle of Maldon (Gordon)
1st/2nd Sir Gawain (Tolkien & Gordon)
Two 2nd/1st Sir Gawains (Tolkien & Gordon)
Elizabethan Acting is a 2nd printing
I also thought I would share photos of some Tolkien-adjacent special editions that I bought recently since folks here may appreciate them.
Here are some photos of the Beowulf edition from Tamburn Bindery, hand-illustrated by Joel Trumbo with facing-page handwritten original text and translation.
And some photos of The Poetic Edda edition from Tamburn Bindery, hand-illustrated with both original text and translation. The illustrations in these are only black and white. It's a very hefty book (as you can tell from the height in the first photo in this post), and it's a great experience to read through it.
Finally, the limited slipcased edition of the first volume of Malcolm Guite's new Arthuriad: Galahad and the Grail, illustrated by Stephen Crotts. This may be my favorite "new" book I've bought in years. Both the text and illustrations are beautiful.
1st/1st Battle of Maldon (Gordon)
1st/2nd Sir Gawain (Tolkien & Gordon)
Two 2nd/1st Sir Gawains (Tolkien & Gordon)
Elizabethan Acting is a 2nd printing
I also thought I would share photos of some Tolkien-adjacent special editions that I bought recently since folks here may appreciate them.
Here are some photos of the Beowulf edition from Tamburn Bindery, hand-illustrated by Joel Trumbo with facing-page handwritten original text and translation.
And some photos of The Poetic Edda edition from Tamburn Bindery, hand-illustrated with both original text and translation. The illustrations in these are only black and white. It's a very hefty book (as you can tell from the height in the first photo in this post), and it's a great experience to read through it.
Finally, the limited slipcased edition of the first volume of Malcolm Guite's new Arthuriad: Galahad and the Grail, illustrated by Stephen Crotts. This may be my favorite "new" book I've bought in years. Both the text and illustrations are beautiful.
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