A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Subject=Letters&amp;Book%20Subject=Manuscripts%252C%2520Letters%252C%2520Documents&amp;Book%20Subject=Manuscripts%252C%2520Letters%252C%2520Documents%252C%2520Ephemera" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">letter</a> from <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?locale=en&amp;Book%20Subject=Letters&amp;Book%20Subject=Manuscripts%252C%2520Letters%252C%2520Documents&amp;Book%20Subject=Manuscripts%252C%2520Letters%252C%2520Documents%252C%2520Ephemera&amp;query=J.R.R.%20Tolkien&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a> to Ken Jackson concerning a production of The Hobbit.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>Dated January 4th, 1968.</li><li>Handwritten and signed.</li><li>1 ½ pages.</li><li>Signed by JRR Tolkien with the characteristic 3 dots and underscore.</li><li>Written on blind stamped headed paper: 76 Sandfield Road, Headington, Oxford.</li></ul> A fine original Tolkien letter, handwritten and signed to Ken Jackson, technical director of Humphrey Carpenter's musical adaptation of The Hobbit. An adaptation of The Hobbit, dramatized and produced by Humphrey Carpenter, was staged by New College Choir School in the late 1960s. Tolkien provided autographs for the actors but neglected the technical crew. Tolkien offers to send some 'stick-in autographs" to Mr. Jackson, technical director of Humphrey Carpenter's musical adaptation of The Hobbit at the end of 1967, who was "left out" of an autographing session Tolkien. The author then apologizes to "the back-room boys of the drama" noting their "necessary, indeed very important, functions". He explains that his eldest son, John Tolkien Jr, “used to perform the same functions at his school". Tolkien also signed copies of the program for the performance for Mr. Jackson and the children.

Handwritten Letter From J.R.R. Tolkien

Uncorrected proof of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first US edition</a> of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?locale=en&amp;query=Tolkien&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tolkien</a>'s long essay on fairy tales, accompanied by an exemplary story — W.H. Auden's copy.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>Tree and Leaf, Includes Mythopoeia and The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth.</li><li>Boston:&nbsp;Houghton Mifflin Company,&nbsp;1965.</li><li>82 pages.</li><li>With Auden's marginal marks throughout and his notes on the final leaf.&nbsp;</li><li>Original plastic-comb-bound printed pale blue wrappers.</li></ul> "In describing a fairy story which they think adults might possibly read for their own entertainment, reviewers frequently indulge in such waggeries as: 'this book is for children from the ages of six to sixty'. But I have never yet seen the puff of a new motor-model that begun thus: 'this toy will amuse infants from seventeen to seventy'; though that to my mind would be much more appropriate." Though unsigned, this copy is W.H. Auden's, with his markings in the text and notes (including a list of the seven deadly sins) on the blank verso of the last leaf. Auden famously wrote a 1954 New York Times review raving about The Fellowship of The Rings, which in no small part helped legitimize Tolkien in literary circles: "No fiction I have read in the last five years has given me more joy." He also shared a friendly correspondence with Tolkien, exchanging letters frequently over the years and receiving advance copies of the next two installments of the series. He also, the year after Tree And Leaf appeared, spoke at a New York gathering of the Tolkien Society. Tolkien himself later contributed a lovely poem in Anglo-Saxon and English titled "For W.H.A." as part of a festschrift for Auden's sixtieth birthday in Shenandoah. This book, in many ways a critical defense of the kind of stories Auden had previously so lavishly praised, would have undoubtedly been of particular interest. An excellent association and rare in this format.

Tree And Leaf

A&nbsp;set of the first printings of the second US edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, comprising The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3 volumes.</li><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>Jackets and label designed by Robert Quackenbush.&nbsp;</li><li>Boston/Cambridge:&nbsp;Houghton Mifflin Company, The Riverside Press,&nbsp;1967.</li><li>424, 452 and 440 pages respectively.</li><li>With all folding maps (by Tolkien's son Christopher) present.</li><li>Houghton Mifflin review slips loosely laid into each volume.</li><li>Bound in the original publisher's full black gilt-stamped cloth all in original unclipped ($6.00) color pictorial dust jackets.</li></ul> Tolkien's Middle Earth grew not only from his experiences in World War I and studies as a professor of English language and literature at Oxford, but from his childhood hobby of constructed languages (conlangs). Tolkien argued in his essay "A Secret Vice" that "for perfect construction of an art-language it is found necessary to construct at least in outline a mythology" along with it. In other words, "your language construction will breed a mythology." Middle Earth sprang into being in part so that Tolkien could draw on a mature culture, history and mythology for his beloved conlangs. As a result, we have Bilbo, Frodo and Sam; Gandalf the Grey, and Aragorn who is Strider; the One Ring, the covetous Gollum; and a harrowing journey to Mount Doom. Houghton published the first US editions of the trilogy from 1954-1956. This second US edition follows closely the second UK from Allen &amp; Unwin of the previous year, which was heavily revised and corrected by the author. These books, marketed as the "Revised Edition" and including a new foreword by Tolkien, were issued both as individual volumes (as here) and a slipcased set.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

First edition, first printing of Tolkien's best-known work.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>The Hobbit or There and Back Again.</li><li>London: George Allen &amp; Unwin Ltd, 1937.</li><li>Frontispiece and 8 black &amp; white plates and one vignette by Tolkien, advertisement leaf at end, top edge of text block tinted green.</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original stamped green cloth, map pastedowns and endpapers.</li></ul> Betty Jean Orton is the daughter of Harold Orton (1898–1975), English dialectologist and lexicographer remembered for his monumental Survey of English Dialects (1962–72).Tolkien began writing The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, as a professor of English language and literature at Oxford University. Tolkien's creative perspective was born from a childhood spent briefly in South Africa and then rural England, a short but wretched tour during World War I, and an avid fascination with German philology. Although it was originally billed as a children's book, The Hobbit attracted a varied audience and has been wildly popular since its initial publication. Tolkien built upon the tradition of fantasy literature developed by George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll and the folk tales of Arabian Nights by inventing a new language—Elvish—and making it accessible for modern-day readers. Such creativity brought rave reviews for The Hobbit. 1,500 copies were published on Sept. 21, 1937 and were sold out by December, less than three months after publication.

The Hobbit (First Edition, First Printing)

A typed and <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> letter from <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.%20Tolkien&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>, which reveals the origin of Frodo and Bilbo’s house name, 'Bag-End.'<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>Dated 29th January 1968.</li><li>1 page.</li><li>Signed with Tolkien's distinctive three dots and underscore.</li><li>Typed on embossed paper from 76 Sandfield Road, Oxford, with a Basildon Bond watermark.</li><li>Accompanied by the original envelope with a 4d postage stamp.</li></ul> This typed, signed letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to K. Jackson, dated 29th January 1968, offers a fascinating insight into the origins of one of&nbsp;The Lord of the Rings' most iconic names—Bag-End. Responding to a request to name a house "Bag-End," Tolkien reveals its source: the local name of a house in Worcestershire where his Aunt Jane lived. He humorously notes that "it is impossible to patent mere names," and recounts how the name came from an old, tumbledown manor at the end of an untidy lane. A significant piece of Tolkien's personal history featuring the rare and coveted mention of Bag-End.

J.R.R. Tolkien Signed Typed Letter

First edition second impression and the first with color plates of The Hobbit, Tolkien's best-known work.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>The Hobbit or There and Back Again.</li><li>London: George Allen &amp; Unwin Ltd, 1937.</li><li>Five plates (4 color), 8 illustrations by the author, advertisement leaf at end.</li><li>Bound in full dark green morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers ruled in gilt, Smaug the dragon gilt to lower right corner of the front cover, gilt dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, original cloth covers and spine bound in rear, original front and rear map pastedowns and endpapers bound in, by Bayntun.</li></ul> Tolkien began writing The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, as a professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford University. Tolkien's creative perspective was born from a childhood spent briefly in South Africa and then rural England, a short but wretched tour during World War I, and an avid fascination with German philology. Although it was originally billed as a children's book, The Hobbit attracted a varied audience and has been wildly popular since its initial publication. Tolkien built upon the tradition of fantasy literature developed by George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll and the folk tales of Arabian Nights by inventing a new language—Elvish—and making it accessible for modern-day readers. Such creativity brought rave reviews for The Hobbit, which sold out of its original print run of 1,500 copies three months after publication.

The Hobbit

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=The%20Lord%20of%20the%20Rings&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Lord of the Rings</a> by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.%20Tolkien&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968.</li><li>Rebound in full red morocco leather with Sauron vignette and in custom-made slip-case.</li></ul> The first complete collection of The Lord of the Rings - Containing the trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the King and preceding the Deluxe Edition of 1969.

The Lord of the Rings First Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first impression of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=The%20Hobbit&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Hobbit</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>England: George Allen &amp; Unwin, 1937.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original green cloth, presented in a facsimile dust jacket.</li></ul> Published on September 21, 1937, the first printing of the Hobbit constituted only 1500 copies and completely sold out by December 15th.

The Hobbit | First Edition, First Impression

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