Forum Auctions

30 November 2023 11:00 GMT

Lot 429 - Tolkien (J.R.R.).- Gordon (Eric Valentine) Bust portrait of J.R.R. Tolkien, looking to his left,

Tolkien (J.R.R.).- Gordon (Eric Valentine, Canadian philologist, worked alongside Tolkien on various scholastic works, 1896-1938) Bust portrait of J.R.R. Tolkien, looking to his left, pencil, signed lower left, inscribed underneath 'Professor John Ronald Tolkien/ Leeds University 1924', with ink stamp 'Leeds/ University' in the lower right corner, on cream wove paper without watermark, sheet 360 x 270 mm (14 1/8 x 10 5/8 in), under glass, pasted at edges into original card mount, mount window 305 x 205 mm (12 x 8 1/8 in), some minor surface dirt and light browning, a few small surface nicks, in original oak frame, 1924.

Provenance:
Private collection, UK

⁂ The only non-photographic portrait of J. R. R. Tolkien drawn in his lifetime.

After Tolkien was discharged from military service in 1919, he took up his first academic post as Reader in English Language at the University of Leeds, becoming the youngest member of academic staff at 28. During this early period of his academic life, Tolkien devoted himself to the study of medieval philology, and found friendship with a fellow enthusiast in the department, Eric Valentine Gordon. After Gordon arrived at Leeds, Tolkien wrote in his diary, "Eric Valentine Gordon has come and got firmly established and is my devoted friend and pal" (Carpenter p.111). Alongside the cornerstones of academic works he produced, namely A Middle English Vocabulary, Tolkien co-edited with Gordon a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight which was published in 1925, a work that remains the standard definitive edition to this day.
Gordon and Tolkien's shared passion led them to found the Viking Club, whose meetings were characterised by members drinking and singing songs they'd written in Old English and Norse. They remained close until Gordon's untimely death in 1938, and two works to which Tolkien contributed, were published posthumously by Ida, Gordon's wife and a fellow philologist. The first was Pearl (1953; Tolkien contributed to this book with a section, "Form and Purpose" in the introduction), and the second was The Seafarer (1960). A week after his death, Tolkien wrote to his widow expressing his grief over the death of his friend: "I have never been quite so happy since Leeds and the parting (too far) of our ways".
A unique and extraordinary early fragment of Tolkien's life before his Lord of the Rings fame.
Refences: Humphrey Carpenter, J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography, New York, Houghton Mifflin.

The present portrait relates very closely, although not exactly, to the photographic portrait commissioned by Tolkien's students circa 1925/6, which Gordon would likely have been involved with, or at least, certainly aware of.

Estimate GBP 15,000 - 20,000
Unsold

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auc ... ab43106b134832931cc2b835b

This item was discussed on this forum when it was sold on eBay for GBP 1,131 on the 17th October 2023 - https://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/n ... t_id=51879#forumpost51879
If you are thinking of bidding on this item then please look at the earlier discussion on the site

You should always exercise good judgement and perform appropriate due-diligence when acquiring signed items to ensure that you are satisfied with the provenance and integrity of any item you bid on.

Lot 430 Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, first impression, 1937.

Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, first impression, frontispiece, one plate and 8 illustrations, including 7 full-page, map endpapers printed in red & black, all by the author, very occasional finger-soiling but a clean copy generally, 2pp. advertisements, original pictorial cloth, slight shelf-lean, light toning to spine, minor fraying to spine tips and corners, small mark to upper cover, but an unusually bright and fresh copy generally, 8vo, 1937.

Estimate GBP 8,000 - 12,000
Sold for GBP 25,080 including fees

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auc ... 76-44ed-8466-b0b30122fbef

Lot 431 Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, third impression, a remarkably crisp copy, 1942.

Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, third impression, colour frontispiece, plain illustrations, cartographic endpapers, original cloth, light toning to spine, a few small marks to covers, slight fraying to spine tips, extremities a little rubbed, an excellent copy, 8vo, 1942.

Estimate GBP 1,000 - 1,500
Sold for GBP 2,640 including fees

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auc ... e8-4dab-b8df-b0b30122fbef

Lot 432 Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Lord of the Rings, first India paper edition, signed by the author, 1969.

Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Lord of the Rings, first India paper edition, signed by the author on front free endpaper verso, illustrations, 2 folding maps, ink gift inscription dated Christmas 1969 to head of endpaper verso, original cloth decorated in gilt, silver and green, spine lettered in gilt, spine faded, some light spotting, slip-case (bumped at head, extremities rubbed and scuffed), 8vo, 1969.

⁂ Provenance: signed by Tolkien during a visit to Allen and Unwin publisher's on the publication of the present edition.

Estimate GBP 3,000 - 4,000
Sold for GBP 8,580 including fees

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auc ... f5-4998-9fbc-b0b30122fbef

You should always exercise good judgement and perform appropriate due-diligence when acquiring signed items to ensure that you are satisfied with the provenance and integrity of any item you bid on.