In the Orbit of Tolkien: Proofs, ARCs and Review Copies

I am currently reorganising my collection and revisiting a group of proof copies, uncorrected proofs, advance copies (ARCs), and review copies. I have recently developed a particular interest in this category of material, which I find especially compelling from a bibliographical and textual perspective. Each item—apart from Mortal Engines—has a strong and direct connection to Tolkien, whether through authorship, editorial context, or intellectual milieu.
Do you collect this kind of material?

Lewis, C. S.; Sayers, Dorothy L. [J. R. R. Tolkien and Charles S. Johnson]. Essays Presented to Charles Williams. Oxford University Press, 1947.
A collective tribute to Charles Williams, featuring contributions by friends and colleagues, including Tolkien, on literature, theology, and myth.

Williams, Charles. Arthurian Torso. Containing the Posthumous Fragment of The Figure of Arthur. Edited by C. S. Lewis . Geoffrey Cumberlege – Oxford University Press, 1948.
A posthumous work presenting Williams’s unfinished study of King Arthur, accompanied by commentary and reflections by C. S. Lewis and Tolkien. One copy was present in Tolkien’s library.

Tolkien, J. R. R. Smith of Wootton Major. George Allen & Unwin, 1967.

Tolkien, J. R. R. De Smid van Groot-Woolding [Smith of Wootton Major]. Dutch edition. Spectrum, 1967.
Dutch edition of Tolkien’s late fairy tale exploring imagination, artistic vocation, and the relationship between the human and Faërie realms.

Tolkien, J. R. R. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo. George Allen & Unwin, London, 1975.
Tolkien’s acclaimed modern English translations of three masterpieces of Middle English literature, accompanied by scholarly introductions.

Carpenter, Humphrey. Tolkien: A Biography. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977.
The first authorised biography of J. R. R. Tolkien, drawing on extensive documentary evidence and personal testimony to chronicle his life and work.

Carpenter, Humphrey. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981.
A landmark collection of Tolkien’s correspondence, offering invaluable insights into his creative process, scholarship, and personal life.

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984.
A collection of Tolkien’s major academic essays on medieval literature, philology, language, and literary criticism.

Salu, Mary; Farrell, Robert T. J. R. R. Tolkien, Scholar and Storyteller. Essays in Memoriam.
Copy formerly owned by André Crépin, the French medievalist, philologist, linguist, and professor of English literature. It contains his typed review of the volume and his personal bookplate.

Zaleski, Philip & Carol. The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams. Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2015.
A collective biography of the Inklings, intertwining the lives and works of Tolkien, Lewis, Barfield, and Williams within the cultural milieu of twentieth-century Oxford.

Reeve, Philip. Macchine mortali [Mortal Engines]. Italian edition. Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 2004.
A steampunk novel set in a post-apocalyptic future where vast mobile cities prey upon one another in a relentless struggle for survival.

Jones, Gwyn. The Still Waters and Other Stories. Peter Davies Ltd., 1948.
A collection of stories blending fantasy, Norse folklore, and reflections on human nature and myth.

Auden, W. H. Secondary Worlds. Faber and Faber, 1967.
An essay exploring the significance of literary fantasy, examining the concept of secondary worlds and the role of the creative imagination.

Green, Roger Lancelyn. J. M. Barrie. A Bodley Head Monographs. The Bodley Head, 1960.
A biographical and critical study of J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, focusing on his life, works, and literary legacy.

Green, Roger Lancelyn. The Book of Nonsense by many authors. Dent Dutton, 1956.
An anthology of nonsense verse, rhymes, and humorous writings collected by Green, celebrating a literary tradition enjoyed by readers of all ages.

Renault, Mary. Purposes of Love. Longmans, Green and Co. Ltd., 1968.
A novel exploring love, relationships, and moral conflict in post-war England, foreshadowing themes that would become central to Renault’s later work.

Taylor, Paul B. and Auden, W. H. The Elder Edda: A Selection. Faber and Faber, 1968.
A selection of poems from the Poetic Edda, translated and introduced for modern readers, providing an essential gateway to Norse mythology. One copy was present in Tolkien’s library.

Jennings, Elizabeth. A Way of Looking. Poems. Andre Deutsch, 1955.
A collection of poetry marked by clarity, introspection, and sensitivity, exploring faith, memory, and everyday experience. One copy was present in Tolkien’s library. Copy given by the author.

Sveinsson, Einar Ól. Dating the Icelandic Sagas. An Essay in Method. Viking Society for Northern Research, 1958.
A methodological study of the dating of the Icelandic sagas, making an important contribution to Norse philology and medieval source criticism. This copy was presented by Gabriel Turville-Petre to Ursula Brown. It bears Brown’s signature on the front cover and the inscription: “U. B. with best wishes from G.T-P. 24/1/1959”.

Mitchison, Naomi. The Swan’s Road. The Naldrett Press, 1954.
A children's novel inspired by the Norse sagas, reworking Scandinavian myth and history into a tale of travel, growth, and discovery in the medieval world.

Tolkien, J. R. R.; Lewis, C. S. Chaucer, Fairy Stories etc. 1949s.
A collection of essays by Tolkien, including Chaucer as a Philologist: The Reeve’s Tale and On Fairy-Stories, and by C. S. Lewis, On Stories, photocopied but printed only on one side and bound together. The book comes from a batch purchased in Oxford, originating from the Tolkien family circle. Among these volumes are several signed by Faith Tolkien, the first wife of Christopher.