Tolkien Collection at Bodleian is opened to public

“A rare collection of books and artifacts will be open to the public for the first time after a £5 million donation was made to the famous Bodleian Library at Oxford University by Oxford publisher Julian Blackwell, president of the Blackwell’s academic bookshop chain.”

Thank you, Julian Blackwell!

Big news Alcuin! Very exciting, especially about the many letters. Maybe we'll get something else on par with Letter 131?

Thanks for posting this.

Yes; I thank you also Alcuin. I haven’t heard anything about this at all until now.

By Nom
"Maybe we'll get something else on par with Letter 131?"

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I wouldn’t get my hopes up. I remember when reading that letter for the first time, I had completely forgotten the fact that I was actually reading; “a letter”; and found myself once again lost in Middle-Earth .

Also, concerning the link you provided; my copies of Tolkien’s writings are older, and have very few illustrations; what do you think that drawing is in the picture? I can not make out his chicken scratch. Cirith Ungol maybe?

The material at the Bodleian seems to be growing however because Christopher Tolkien deposits materials there after he has finished publishing all that he wishes to publish of them.


It sounds like anything of signifigance has already been published by Christopher Tolkien.

The guy's been over his father's mathom house for 35 years. I'd expect nothing on a par with Letter 184.......

Bucky said:

The guy's been over his father's mathom house for 35 years. I'd expect nothing on a par with Letter 184.......

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Tolkien was a prolific writer and note-taker. I think the volume of his work is something like that of composer J.S. Bach, who wrote so much (excellent!) music during his lifetime that a scribe copying the material would spend another lifetime transcribing it.

Moreover, only Marquette collection is generally available to scholars, and those must be pre-screened. The Bodleian collection is far more restrictive, as I understand matters, although I am no expert on this subject.

In any case, I think that the announcement states that Julian Blackwell’s bequest is not to allow the public access to the materials, but to provide for some of it to be placed on display for the public to see. Much of the work – like the sketch of Cirith Ungol in combination with the text – is similar to that of William Blake’s in its form and presentation, and so is quite visually exciting.

Where can we read these already found and high-praised letters such as 131 and 184?

Where can we read these already found and high-praised letters such as 131 and 184?

In 'The Letters of JRR Tolkien'

Letter 131 is also in later forewards of The Silmarillion. It's an overview of the history of the First & Second Ages of Middle-earth the Tolkien wrote to a publisher around 1950-51 in hopes of getting The Silmarilion published with The Lord of the Rings....

#184, that was a joke - it's a response to guy named Sam Gamgee wondering how Tolkien came up with THAT name.

The Letters, on a whole, run the gammet from Tolkien's philosophical bents to religious beliefs to personal & love relationships, to a great deal of insight into the making of The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, as well as some choice insights into Middle-earth (thank goodness).

Personally, I just read the Middle-earth related stuff, but to each his/her own.

Thanks for this thread, Alcuin.

I don't suppose I'll ever see the manuscripts that were shipped to Milwaukee (though I admit that William B Ready probably saved them from mildew or a skip); but the Bodleian is within an easy day out.

The picture by Tolkien is called 'Shelob's Lair', and wasn't published in any book in Tolkien's lifetime. It was first published in the Tolkien Calendar for 1977, and then reproduced in the book called 'Pictures by Tolkien', ed. Christopher Tolkien, in 1979.

It was also published in Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull's masterly book on Tolkien, called 'JRR Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator' (1995). This book shows some 200 pictures by Tolkien, and has a scholarly yet very readable text. I recommend it.

There are exhibitions of Tolkien's materials at the Bodleian now and again. The most recent was that held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of LotR. The biggest was that held in 1992, during Tolkien's centenary year. There's a catalogue of the exhibition, which is like a fair-sized art book in itself; it's called 'JRR Tolkien: Life and Legend'.