TCG Letter #1855

Replying to Tolkien's letter,^{Carpenter #11b: Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to C.A. Furth • ?10 March 1937 (#1370)[1]} Furth confirms that Tolkien will receive proofs of the corrected portions for The Hobbit. Tolkien is warned that the corrections might exceed his allowance.

Furth notes that it is unfortunate that GA&U did not know that the typescript that was sent to them originally was not intended for printing, and that the printers have had to fully revise the setting of the book.

Furth also says that the endpapers have to be the same two colours and suggests red and black would be best. Also, GA&U will try another method to capture the 'moon-letters' after they came out indistinct.

The same colours must be used on both endpapers (Tolkien would prefer Wilderland to appear in black and blue); he agrees with Tolkien that black and red would be best. GA&U would like Tolkien to produce the jacket, but that is not urgent.

Furth concludes, perhaps sarcastically, that the book will be published when it is ready.

This letter is held at the Tolkien–George Allen & Unwin archive, at HarperCollins.