TCG Letter #2252

Olney from Tolkien's American publisher Houghton Mifflin writes to Tolkien saying that they have decided not to commission Virgil Finlay to illustrate The Hobbit, but rather have decided to work with Maurice Sendak. As Sendak is much more popular (and expensive) they would like to do a limited deluxe edition instead of a standard illustrated one. It will take a few years for Sendak to make the illustrations.