The Roadshow is at Firstsite contemporary art gallery in Colchester for its final visit, where finds include a creepy goblin figurine, a 17th-century amulet and porcelain plaque discovered buried in a box bought at auction.
Clive Farahar finds a collection of signed Tolkien books dedicated to a man whose relatives were neighbours of the author, while Mark Hill is challenged to settle a family argument over the authenticity of a bronze figurine.
The guitar responsible for the distinctive sound of British bands in the 1960s delights pop culture expert Claire Tole-Moir, and Ronnie Archer Morgan is captivated by a Congolese wooden shield that was previously used to pay off a debt.
Siobhan Tyrrell explores a collection of items from the YMCA that reveal the bravery of female volunteers during the First World War while Will Farmer is thrilled to meet the owner of an exceptional Hans Coper vase, originally gifted by the celebrated ceramist himself.
Alexandra Gill discovers a painting that may or may not be by the renowned equestrian painter Sir Alfred Munnings, while Fiona Bruce is joined by Lee Young to learn about state-of-the-art techniques in ceramic repairs.
First item on the show, 4 late books, a set of 2nd edition LOTR and a hardback Hobbit, all signed and inscribed to Michael Dobson, though in The Two Towers, Tolkien writes Michael Tolkien, his son's name and then crosses it out.
Pretty low estimate of GBP 25,000 in the current market, but the point was mentioned that they may be more in the US than the UK.
The Tolkien items from this episode of the Antiques Roadshow are for sale at Bonhams.
Lot 160
TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, third edition, fifth impression, AUTHOR'S PRESENTATION COPY, inscribed on half-title "signed for Michael Dobson / J.R.R. Tolkien", and with further inscription from Dobson's aunt and uncle at foot of page dated 1971, 12 illustrations, advertisement leaf at end, publisher's green cloth (slight soiling to upper cover and offsetting to spine, some browning to endpapers), dust-jacket (price-clipped, tape stains on upper flap, edges a little frayed), 8vo, George Allen and Unwin, 1970 Footnotes
A BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR THE NEPHEW OF A NEIGHBOUR, INSCRIBED BY TOLKIEN DURING HIS FINAL YEARS.
Like the three volumes in the following lot, the present copy of The Hobbit was inscribed by Tolkien as a favour for his neighbours, with whom the author was on friendly terms during the years he spent living in Poole. Having purchased the books as a birthday present for their nephew, Michael Dobson, they asked Tolkien to sign them for him, and he graciously agreed. Tolkien and his wife Edith had moved to Branksome, Poole in 1968, to escape the intrusions caused by his growing fame in Oxford following his retirement. They lived there until Edith's death in November 1971, after which Tolkien moved back to Oxford in March 1972.
Provenance: Michael Dobson, gift inscription on half-title "From Auntie Win and Uncle Bert, 1971", and thence by descent to the present owner.
TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) [The Lord of the Rings:] The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King, all revised second edition, fifth impression, AUTHOR'S PRESENTATION COPIES, EACH INSCRIBED ON HALF-TITLES "signed for Michael Dobson" (in 'The Two Towers' "Tolkien" neatly crossed out and replaced with "Dobson"), folding map at end of each volume, tape stains on endpapers (probably from old dust-jacket covers), publisher's red cloth (spine ends bumped), dust-jackets (clipped, 20mm. mark on spine of 'The Two Towers", edges and spine ends a little bumped), 8vo, George Allen and Unwin, 1970 Footnotes
A SET OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY INSCRIBED BY THE DISTRACTED TOLKIEN FOR HIS NEIGHBOURS' NEPHEW.
The three volumes were inscribed by Tolkien as a special favour for his neighbours, with whom the author was on friendly terms during the years he spent living in Poole. Having purchased the trilogy as a birthday gift for their nephew, Michael Dobson, they asked Tolkien to sign them for him, and he graciously agreed. Tolkien and his wife Edith had moved to Branksome, Poole in 1968, to escape the intrusions caused by his growing fame in Oxford following his retirement. They lived there until Edith's death in November 1971, after which Tolkien moved back to Oxford in March 1972.
All three volumes, revised editions of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, bear presentation inscriptions in the author's hand. Particularly poignant is the inscription in The Two Towers, where Tolkien begins to write his own surname in place of the recipient's, catching the error and striking it through neatly before completing the inscription with the correct surname "Dobson".
Provenance: Michael Dobson, gift inscriptions on endpapers "From Auntie Win and Uncle Bert, 1971", and thence by descent.
5446