1963 Tolkien signed manuscript letter

These letters were sold by RRAuctions this May for just under $16,000. That is a shameful price hike.

Thanks for pointing that out, onthetrail. I have the RR Auction archived on this site as well.

Dealers, especially on the high end, are not selling to the type of collector that monitors the market, watches auctions, and finds the best price for what they are looking for. They are selling to movie stars, heads of state, Wall Street traders and the like, who want prestige items to show off, or are trying to build collections that when donated will get their name on a library at their alma mater or similar. Price is not the object, having one-of-a-kind items is the point, and (almost) any price is insignificant compared to their cash flow.

Admittedly, sometimes dealers overshoot their clients and have to sell off later for much less than they thought, but 60-70% margin above what they paid is quite in line with everything I have seen. They can pass it on to another dealer who does have someone who wants it for 50% off list, and still make a profit.

The challenge, and the fun (for me at least), is the hunt to find these unique items without just going to the high end dealers and paying their premium.

Many thanks for the info Urulöké.

If some of this stuff ends up in libraries or donated to literary archives it ends well but the thin end is that these items spend years in the hands of people who only value the financial or kudos worth.

Thankfully my local library is dedicated to Wilfred Owen rather than a rich Wall Street banker or a movie star.

Excellent, thank you! Very interesting, indeed!

Going through the letter, I noticed a few points in the transcription.

At the bottom of page 2 of the hand-written letter (after the paragraph ending “... Saxony.”) there is a paragraph missing from the transcript:

I am indeed under contract to produce (by putting into order the already written tales of the earlier ages, referred to in the Appendices) another book about the same ‘world’; but I have been hampered by the need to finish off some learned and semi-learned professional work. That's nearly accomplished.

On page 3, about the middle (early in the ‘Stryder’ paragraph), I believe that “this sensation” is a misreading for “the sensation”. Later in the same paragraph, I am unsure whether it should be “bill of performance” or “bill of performers”, though I am leaning to the latter (I hope the Estate will not mind my including an image of those three words specifically) . In line four of page 4, I am, however, quite certain that it reads “owes a good deal” (rather than a “great deal”).

In the penultimate paragraph, the parenthesis reads “[??] not very perceptive” – I wonder if the unreadable sign might be an ampersand: “& not very perceptive” to continue the list of adjectives for Sam's loyalty.

Finally the transcription omits a “v.” in the final paragraph, where the first sentence should read, “The drawing I am v. grateful for.”

Definitely "bill of performers".

The unreadable sign is definitely not an ampersand. In isolation I would read it as "by" or (if this were found in Tolkien's hastier handwriting) "being"; but in this case I think either form is simply a mistake for "but".

Wow! What a cognitive bombshell. The kind from the Star Trek installment that creates rather than destroys. Such a plethora of interesting comments which resonate with so much else in the legendarium or the essays. A great example of his compression: “…simply meant to be a history as it appears.” to “my story is in no way an 'allegory'…but mythical-historical.” Then mentions the, “…'archetypal' motifs… putting of them into an entirely new setting, carefully devised, that gives the sense of 'reality.' Fits for me.
Then to take it away and to put all us Tolkien unpackers in our place: “But that is, of course, for me, as much as for any reader or critic, an afterthought. I did not set out to do this.” He then mentions writing what pleased him & specifically included his trees.
But who, in retrospect, was the Man behind Strider/Aragorn? Who resonated with a “the hidden King”? Who fit “Of the 'perilous' kind…”?
¿Lewis? Craigie? Tolkien seemed to be referring to the attributes of several people but more one in particular. Lewis comes to mind in the comment, “They often surprise you, because sharp facets of word or deed may suddenly show that only long knowledge could relate to their centre. They cannot be taken for granted. If you become slack, after (say) much experience of their kindness, and treat them as if they were something soft (like india rubber), you find that what is only insulation covering a live wire connected with a dynamo—and you get anything from a smart titillation to a severe shock.” To me this brings up Lewis’ marriage and whatever is in the “Ulsterior Motive” (or however it is spelled). I have no idea of Strider relates to Craigie other than he rose based on merit not birth.

Thank you to onthertrail, Troels Frochhammer & Aelfwine for the updates.

Bruce