By chloe

'Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves' old print

21 Oct, 2021
2021-10-21 12:25:21 AM UTC

Hello, I wonder if anyone can shed light on the origin of a print I have. I bought it second hand as a student in Leeds purely for the design as I didn't know it was by Tolkien. But then I read 'Bilbo' and recognised it from The Hobbit because my mum had talked about the book.
I can't find any info about the print and when it was originally sold apart from something that was posted on this site about an exhibition in the 70's in London. So maybe someone bought the print there and took it to Leeds to be mounted? Or was there also an exhibition in Leeds itself?

Trotter

21 Oct, 2021
2021-10-21 5:47:13 AM UTC

This is the catalogue of the Exhibition that you mention, http://tolkienbooks.net/php/details2.php?id=721 and I think you are probably correct that the poster may have come from there.

Urulókë

21 Oct, 2021
2021-10-21 3:58:05 PM UTC

I don't recall there being official posters sold at that exhibition in London, but don't take that as authoritative.

Hammond Eii9 (p. 377) mentions that various posters, including "Bilbo Comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves", were "variously noted as published or distributed by Poster Shops, Camden Graphics, Posters by Post, 1974?" in London. I think perhaps this is one of those, that has been professionally framed/mounted by a gallery in Leeds - the label pictures states that they do custom framing of art brought in by patrons.

Huan

22 Oct, 2021 (edited)
2021-10-22 1:56:46 AM UTC

Slightly off topic of the poster but still mentioning Camden Graphics, I bought these sometime last year. I have the three sets of cards by GA&U from the 1970s but hadn’t seen these with white borders before. The phone number on the back would indicate these were made before the 01 dialling code for London changed, no later than 1995. What are peoples thoughts on their production? If mass produced I’ve not seen them before, so just private copies?

chloe

22 Oct, 2021
2021-10-22 4:31:51 PM UTC

Thanks Trotter, yes the that looks like the exhibition.

chloe

22 Oct, 2021
2021-10-22 4:38:20 PM UTC

Hi Urulókë, the poster shops must be the answer then, it definitely looks about 50 years old! And yes the Headrow Gallery is primarily a framing company. With Tolkiens links to Leeds I wondered if the exhibition had toured to one of the Leeds art galleries but it seems like it's just a coincidence that the poster made it's way there.

chloe

22 Oct, 2021
2021-10-22 4:41:55 PM UTC

Huan68 your post is strengthening the case for Camden Graphics making my print!

'Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves' old print

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