I love all the ideas mentioned, especially Deagol's idea! Full Tolkien's opus in a single leather collection, I would be willing to pay a small fortune for that one, what a great idea. Letters v2 is a close second for me, great idea Berelach:)

I like the Songs idea - my first choice
but secondly my favourite Tom Bombadil Super deluxe

I would like to see the remaining texts published (without commentary is fine), just lumped into composition order. Including revised versions of already released poems such as the original Happy Mariner. Even though the revisions on many are minor it would still be great to get all the remaining writings in print.

I would also really like the Christopher Tolkien Silmarillion analysis.

And like so many others I am chomping at the bit for more letters. Tolkien deserves a multi-volume release.

I’ve sort of mentioned this before, but, I would LOVE

The Book of Lost Tales

all together in one volume

yellow cloth or leather (’cause it’s the “Golden Book of Tavrobel”)

unabridged – no summaries in “The Tale of the Sun and Moon” as in HME I, just the complete Tolkien text

cleaned up – no footnote stating a word was undecipherable; just supply best guess

no HME-style introductions, annotations, or footnotes (no constant comparison to Silm); some appendices and indices, sure

all the bibliophile things – quality of paper, layout, sewn binding, endpapers

as many of JRRT’s own drawings and maps as make sense to include

at the back include ‘Ambarkanta’ and the maps from HME IV, because to me they help visualize Tolkien’s world more or less as it existed in his early writings (albeit these are somewhat later).


To me BoLT is a masterpiece second only to LotR, despite it being incomplete, early, discontinuous with later writings, etc., and it deserves a standalone presentation that does it justice.

Not exactly Tolkien, so, forgive me, but, I’d honestly love to see the MERP series reprinted in this fashion, under the title Encyclopedia Middle-earthia.

Ulmo wrote:
I’ve sort of mentioned this before, but, I would LOVE

The Book of Lost Tales

all together in one volume

yellow cloth or leather (’cause it’s the “Golden Book of Tavrobel”)

unabridged – no summaries in “The Tale of the Sun and Moon” as in HME I, just the complete Tolkien text

cleaned up – no footnote stating a word was undecipherable; just supply best guess

no HME-style introductions, annotations, or footnotes (no constant comparison to Silm); some appendices and indices, sure

all the bibliophile things – quality of paper, layout, sewn binding, endpapers

as many of JRRT’s own drawings and maps as make sense to include

at the back include ‘Ambarkanta’ and the maps from HME IV, because to me they help visualize Tolkien’s world more or less as it existed in his early writings (albeit these are somewhat later).


To me BoLT is a masterpiece second only to LotR, despite it being incomplete, early, discontinuous with later writings, etc., and it deserves a standalone presentation that does it justice.

I had not considered already published work in different formats or reorganized but I would also love this released. You & Me / and the Cottage of lost Play is my favourite Tolkien work.

Have you attempted a version of this yourself? I was considering putting a PDF version together and then maybe look at a printing for myself.

The Shire editions: The Redbook of Westmarch and Translations from the Elvish as best as we can reconstruct those volumes. No commentary except via a separate volume.

Have you attempted a version of this yourself? I was considering putting a PDF version together and then maybe look at a printing for myself.

Typesetting is very important to me. I can tell professional work vs. amateur work. I don’t think I could produce for myself a book I’d like to read.