Tolkien, J.R.R. PICTURES BY J.R.R. TOLKIEN. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1979. 1st U.S. edition. With “First American Edition” printed on the copyright page” and number line H 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, all of which indicate that this is the correct 1st edition, 1st printing. There was no dust jacket issued with this book, but there was a slipcase issued that encloses the book. This is NOT a book-club book. This is NOT an ex-library book.
Buyer beware: There may have been later printings of PICTURES OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN that were published in this hardcover/slipcased format. There were definitely later editions of PICTURES in different hardcover formats. This is the real deal: the true 1st U.S. edition, 1st printing.
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J.R.R. Tolkien was born in 1892 in Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State (now Free State Province in South Africa). He died at age 81 in 1973 and was buried with his wife, who had died 21 months earlier. Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, who is best known for authoring THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, consisting of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE TWO TOWERS, and THE RETURN OF THE KING. At one time Tolkien was good friends with the famous C.S. Lewis. While others had published fantasy fiction before Tolkien, his great success with THE HOBBIT and with THE LORD OF THE RINGS led to a popular resurgence of the fantasy genre. He has been called the father of modern high fantasy literature. J.R.R. Tolkien was a keen student, a fast reader, and a fluent writer at a young age. He was taught (and stayed interested) in botany, adventure fiction, and languages (and the structures of languages). When England became directly involved in World War I, Tolkien entered a program wherein he could delay enlisting until he finished his degree in July of 1915. He was commissioned at a Second Lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers. In letters to his wife Edith, he wrote of “junior officers being killed off, a dozen a minute. Parting from my wife then . . . it was like a death.” Because of the enormous amounts of lice that lived in the trenches, Tolkien came down with trench fever and was invalided to England. Many of his dearest school friend were killed in World War I. According to John Garth: “Although Kitchener’s army enshrined old social boundaries, it also chipped away at the class divide by throwing men from all walks of life into a desperate situation together. Tolkien writes that the experience taught him ‘a deep sympathy and feeling for the Tommy; especially the plain soldier from the agricultural counties.’ He remained profoundly grateful for the lesson. For a long time, he had been imprisoned in a tower, not of pearl, but of ivory.” When Tolkien recovered (to a degree), he was stationed as various camps to do home service. While he was stationed at Kingston upon Hull, he and Edith went walking in the woods in Roos, and Tolkien remembered, after Edith’s death: “ . . . I never called Edith Luthien -- but she was the source of the story that in time became the chief part of the Silmarillion . . . In those days her hair was raven, her skin clear, her eyes brighter than you have seen them, and she could sing -- and dance . . . . “ In 1920 Tolkien took up a post as Reader in English Language at the University of Leeds, and became the youngest professor there. While at Leeds, he produced A MIDDLE ENGLISH VOCABULARY and a definitive edition of SIR GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT with E.V. Gordon, both becoming academic standard works for several decades. In 1925 he returned to Oxford as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon with a fellowship at Pembroke College. During his time at Pembroke he wrote THE HOBBIT and the first two volumes of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Tolkien’s 1936 lecture “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” had a lasting influence on Beowulf research. The article Tolkien wrote about Beowulf is “widely regarded as a turning point in Beowulfian criticism.” In class, Tolkien would come silently into the room, fix the audience with his gaze, and suddenly begin to speak in a resounding voice the opening lines of the poem in the original Anglo-Saxon. It was a dramatic performance and it impressed generations of students because it brought home to them that Beowulf was not just a set text to be read for the purposes of examination, but a powerful piece of dramatic poetry. Decades later, W.H. Auden wrote to his former professor: “I don’t think that I have ever told you what an unforgettable experience it was for me as an undergraduate, hearing you recite Beowulf. The voice was the voice of Gandalf [!!!!!!!].” Later, in 1945, Tolkien moved to Merton College, Oxford, becoming the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature where he remained until his retirement in 1959. Tolkien had finished THE LORD OF THE RINGS in 1948. From Tolkien’s retirement in 1959 through his death in 1973 he received steadily increasing public attention and literary fame. J.R.R. Tolkien never expected his stories to become popular, but by sheer accident a book called THE HOBBIT, which he had written some years before for his own children, came in 1936 to the attention of Susan Dagnall, an employee of the London publishing firm George Allen & Unwin, who persuaded Tolkien to submit it for publication. However, the book attracted adult readers as well as children, and became popular enough for the publishers to ask Tolkien to produce a sequel. The request for a sequel prompted to continue his work on THE LORD OF THE RINGS and for the three volumes to be published in 1954-1955. Tolkien first intended THE LORD OF THE RINGS to be a children’s tale in the style of THE HOBBIT, but it quickly became darker and more serious in the writing. THE LORD OF THE RINGS became immensely popular in the 1960’s and has remained so ever since. J.R.R. Tolkien was the author, of course, of such great and famous books as THE HOBBIT, "The Lord of the Rings," consisting of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE TWO TOWERS, and THE RETURN OF THE KING, THE ADVENTURES OF TOM BOMBADIL and Other Verses, THE ROAD GOES EVER ON, TREE AND LEAF, FARMER GILES OF HAM, THE SILMARILLION (edited by J.R.R. Tolkien's son, Christopher Tolkien), BILBO'S LAST SONG, UNFINISHED TALES (edited by Christopher Tolkien), the twelve-volume set of "The History of Middle-Earth" consisting of THE BOOK OF LOST TALES 1, THE BOOK OF LOST TALES 2, THE LAYS OF BELERIAND, etc., THE CHILDREN OF HURIN (edited by Christopher Tolkien), PICTURES BY J.R.R. TOLKIEN (offered here), and many others.
Some of the awards and award nominations that J.R.R. Tolkien has been honored with:
1957: THE LORD OF THE RINGS. International Fantasy Award winner for Best Fantasy Fiction. 1966: THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Hugo Award winner for Best All-Time Series. 1973: J.R.R. Tolkien is honored by being named a Gandalf Award Grand Master of Fantasy Fiction. 1977: THE SILMARILLION. Locus Award winner for Best Fantasy Novel. 1977: THE SILMARILLION. Ditmar Award winner for Best International Fiction. 1977: THE SILMARILLION. Gandalf Award winner for Best Book-Length Fantasy. 1978: J.R.R. Tolkien is honored by being named a Balrog Award co-winner for Professional Achievement. 1980: UNFINISHED TALES. (by J.R.R. Tolkien; edited by Christopher Tolkien). Locus Award nominee for Best Single Author Collection. 1980: UNFINISHED TALES. (by J.R.R. Tolkien; edited by Christopher Tolkien). Mythopoeic Award winner for Best Fantasy. 1980: UNFINISHED TALES. (by J.R.R. Tolkien; edited by Christopher Tolkien). Balrog Award winner for Best Collection/Anthology. 1984: THE BOOK OF LOST TALES. Mythopoeic Award nominee for Best Fantasy. 1988: J.R.R. Tolkien is honored by being named 36th Best in the Interzone Poll All-Time Best Science Fiction [and Fantasy] Author Poll. 1988: THE RETURN OF THE SHADOW. (by J.R.R. Tolkien; edited by Chrisopher Tolkien). Mythopoeic Award winner for Scholarship/ Inkling. 1991: THE LORD OF THE RINGS. (by J.R.R. Tolkien; illustrated by Alan Lee). Locus Award nominee for Best Nonfiction. 1998: ROVERANDOM. (by J.R.R. Tolkien; edited by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull). Mythopoeic Award nominee for Inkling Studies. 2002: J.R.R. Tolkien is honored by being named a Phantastik Award winner for International Writing. 2002: BEWULF AND THE CRITICS. (by J.R.R. Tolkien; edited by Michael D.C. Drout). Mythopoeic Award winner for Best Inklings Studies. 2007: THE CHILDREN OF HERIN. Phantastik Award nominee for Best Foreign Novel. 2008: J.R.R. Tolkien is honored by being ranked sixth on a list of “The Greatest British Writers Since 1945.” 2009: THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Prometheus Award winner for being inducted into the Prometheus Award Hall of Fame.
J.R.R. Tolkien is widely regarded as the greatest fantasy fiction writer of all time. He is clearly one of the best (if not THE best), most famous, most important, and most collectible fantasy fiction writers of all time. Virtually all fantasy novels and fantasy series are compared to J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy fiction.
From the forward of the book (by Christopher Tolkien): "The primary purpose of this book is to collect together all the pictures (paintings, drawings, designs) by J.R.R. Tolkien which were published in a series of six Calendars from 1973 to 1979 with a gap in 1975 . . . [some of the] paintings that were published in THE HOBBIT . . . [including] a sketch for a painting of the death of Smaug the Dragon over the flames of Lake Town . . . After my father's death, Mr. Rayner Unwin, Chairman of Allen and Unwin, proposed to me that we should continue the series of Calendars . . . [some of black and white paintings for THE HOBBIT] were reproduced [with the excellent artist] Mr. H.E. Riddett was invited the colour the pen and ink pictures . . . [some of the] unfinished sketches and rapid vignettes of great interest as an indication of the author's conception of certain places, pictures, and most especially the burnt leaves from the Book of Mazarbul . . . This book was conceived as a collection of all the pictures that appeared in the six Calendars, but various considerations led us somewhat to extend its scope. It seemed desirable to include the original pen and ink made for [some of] the Calendars and this led to the inclusion of the originals of the unpublished pictures coloured by Mr. Riddett . . . all the pictures from the Calendars necessarily constitutes a fairly complete recored of my father's published work and the inclusion of a few things that did not appear in the Calendars. The book remains closely related to the Calendars [including] pictures illustrating THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and THE SILMARILLION . . . " -- Christopher Tolkien'
The pictures in the book include:
1. The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the-Water 2. The Trolls 3. The Three Trolls are turned to Stone 4. Rivendell looking West 5. Rivendell looking East 6. Rivendell
7. The Mountain-path 8. The Misty Mountains look West from the Eyrie towards Goblin Gate 9. Bilbo woke with the early sun in his eyes 10. Beorn's Hall 11. The Elvenking's Gate (1) 12. The Elvenking's Gate (2) 13. Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves (1) 14. Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves (2) 15. Lake Town 16. The Front Gate 17. Conversation with Smaug 18. Smaug flies round the Mountain 19. Death of Smaug 20. The Hall at Bag-End, Residence of B. Baggins Esquire 21. Old Man Willow 22. Doors of Durin and Moria Gate
23. Leaves from the Book of Mazarbul 24. Moria Gate (The Steps to the East Gate) 25. The Forest of Lothlorien in Spring 26. Helm's Deep and the Hornburg 27. Orthanc and Minas Tirith 28. Shelob's Lair 29. Dunharrow 30. Orodruin and Barad-dur 31. Taniquetil 32. Lake Mithrim 33. Nargothrond (I) 34. Nargothrond (2) 35. Gondolin and the Vale of Tumladen
36. Tol Sirion 37. Mirkwood and Beleg finds Gwindor in Taur-nu-Fuin (entitled Fangorn Forest) 38. Glaurung sets forth to seek Turin 39. Polar Bear had fallen from top to bottom onto his nose 40. Three Dragons 41. Trees 42. Flowering Tree with Friezes 43. Patterns (I) 44. Patterns (2) 45. Floral Designs 46. Numenorean Tile and Textiles 47. Heraldic Devices 48. Elvish Script
I grade books and dust jackets: fine, near fine, very good, good, fair, and poor. I describe all faults. If you sell books on EBAY (or anywhere else), it is de rigueur not to list 1st printings of book club books as 1st editions (unless they ARE the 1st edition, which occurs only occasionally); also, a 1st edition, 7th printing, is not a 1st edition. Ex-library books must be noted as such since generally they are of little value to the collector of 1st editions. Condition is also very important to those collectors. Books and dust jackets must be described in detail. In other words, it is incumbent upon the SELLER to know what is and is not a 1st edition. Mistakes can be made (and corrected), of course, but if you DON'T KNOW, don't try to sell a book as a 1st edition.
A NEAR FINE book in a NEAR FINE slipcase. The book is tight and square in its deep brown full-cloth binding with bright gilt lettering on the spine of the book and the famous J.R.R. Tolkien logo on the front of the book. There is no writing in the book; no bookplates; no remainder marks. There is some foxing in the cloth boards of the book (that is difficult to see). There is some foxing on the front and rear endpapers and blank papers. There is no foxing on any of the other pages, which is especially important in that the pictures in the book are very bright and clean. In spite of the foxing, the book is otherwise in excellent condition. The slipcase is also in nice condition. There is a little fading to the yellow color on the front of the slipcase; mainly unobtrusive. There is a bit of color touch-up at the corners of the slipcase; unobtrusive.
This is a nicer copy of this book (and slipcase) than is usually encountered.
A must for the collector of modern fantasy related 1st editions and/or the collector of J.R.R. Tolkien 1st editions.
There are many additional photos available upon request (I can provide photos of each of the pages that contain drawings and paintings that make up the book).
I am continuing to list some of my best books (especially science fiction, fantasy, and horror 1st editions) on EBAY not so much as auctions (due to the fact that EBAY charges quite a bit to list items for reserve auctions), but more along the lines of listing my "catalogue" of books that I have for sale. I'm not going to "give" these books away, but my opening bids and Buy-It-Now prices are usually a fair amount below market value. Furthermore, however, for certain scarce books in great condition, I do expect to get close to what they're worth. Stay with me; I always have a number of important, collectible, cornerstone science fiction, fantasy, and horror 1st editions listed. Many thanks! All items are being offered for sale elsewhere; I reserve the right to end this listing early if this item sells elsewhere.
I would like to round out this set by acquiring the #2/500 copy of ANCILLARY SWORD. If anyone has this copy and is willing to sell it on EBAY, I would be highly interested in obtaining it so that all my copies would have matching numbers. Many thanks. __________________________________________________________________________________
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OTIUM SINE LITTERIS MORS EST ET HOMINIS VIVI SEPULTURA.