Lot 537 - TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) THE LORD OF THE RINGS, 3 VOL., SECOND EDITION, SECOND IMPRESSION
February “Tuor’s First View of the Sea”
March “The Fall of Turgon’s Tower”
April “The Shire: A View of Hobbiton from The Hill”
May “Battle of the Five Armies”
Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Lord of the Rings, 3 vol., second edition, second impression, vol. 1 with signed presentation inscription from the author "signed for Ethel May with love J. R. R. Tolkien" on half-title, vol. 2 & 3 signed by the author on half-titles, signature on vol. 3 smudged, folding maps, ink ownership inscriptions of E. M. Burchfield to endpapers, that in vol. 1 dated "St. Peters. XII 1967", original cloth, some slight shelf-lean, minor bumping to spine tips and corners, else fine, dust-jackets, very light toning to spines, vol. 1 spine chipped at foot, some light creasing to spine ends and corners, light rubbing to extremities, an excellent set overall, 8vo, 1967.
⁂ With an excellent association, inscribed to the wife of Robert Burchfield, lexicographer and scholar who was mentored by Tolkien.
Burchfield (1923-2004) studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was tutored by C. S. Lewis and Tolkien. Burchfield would go on to develop a Tolkien-like fascination with linguistics and would become the editor of the Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary (a project that would span some 30 years). The two men remained friends and correspondents for much of their lives with Burchfield later crediting Tolkien as "the puckish fisherman who drew me into his glittering philological net".
Even Tolkien could produce some highly suspicious Tolkien signatures (and inscriptions). Which just goes to show how important provenance is.
I think if I was paying that kind of money for signed Tolkien books I would want better examples of his signature. I'm interested to see what that set ends up going for.
My statement was, of course, conditioned on the evidence shown and the implication of the seller that it accurately states and establishes its provenance. The latter is, based on only the seller's statement, open to doubt. Countering that doubt (to my mind) is the notion that if someone were to fake a Tolkien signature and dedication, why would they do so for such a relatively obscure figure as Ethel May Burchfield? On the other hand, that very thought process might underlie a forger's decisions.
Anyone who might be interested in these items should definitely ask the seller for more details as to provenance before making a decision. But it's not impossible that these signatures and inscription are authentic (Tolkien did at times have issues with his arms and hands.)
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