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For sale - 1957 'Carnival of Books' interview acetate

24 June
2024-6-24 3:50:16 AM UTC

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone might be interested in making me a serious offer for these acetates. As far as I know this is a unique item (the Library of Congress in the U.S. supposedly has a tape recording of it and I don't know of any other copies in any format), and I believe it is the earliest audio interview of Tolkien that exists. It's an interview he recorded for a radio show aired in Chicago in 1957. The audio adds up to approximately 15 minutes total, the interview material covering about a third of that.

Here is a sample of the audio which I recorded directly from the acetate: Sample recording

Some additional information can be found in these sources: H&S Chron. p 527, RG p514, 516; Annotated Hobbit p8, 210; ALA Bulletin, Feb 1957, p120, etc.

To give an idea of what I'm looking for I've had an offer of £3,200 to sell this on consignment but I would prefer to sell it more quickly. Please feel free to send me a direct/private message with any questions. Thanks!

4451_6678e7a795a8c.jpg 856X500 px

4451_6678e7a795af6.jpg 605X700 px
24 June
2024-6-24 7:18:22 AM UTC
Have you digitised the whole thing, in case of accidental permanent and irreparable damage to the physical media?
24 June
2024-6-24 7:22:13 AM UTC
For the sake of getting it in writing: Tolkien says that the exam he was marking when he got the line "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit" was the last one. And the subject was 'English Literature', which is not surprising, but I don't recall reading these two points anywhere before (perhaps already recorded by Hammond and Scull? which is on my to-buy-eventually list).
24 June
2024-6-24 7:26:34 AM UTC

DMRoberts wrote:

Have you digitised the whole thing, in case of accidental permanent and irreparable damage to the physical media?

I have, yes.
24 June
2024-6-24 7:54:18 AM UTC
Thank you.
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