This is an uncommon new addition I just received that I don't think I've seen shared on here: a first edition of Speculum Norroenum, which is a festschrift published in memory of Gabriel (E.O.G.) Turville-Petre. Turville-Petre was a student of Tolkien's and collaborated with Christopher Tolkien on several scholarly publications. His wife, Joan, later produced an edited version of Tolkien's translation of the Old English Exodus. It's a decently hefty book at just over 500 pages. Flipping through the book, it appears to contain articles in English, German, and Icelandic. I have not had a chance to read any yet.
The book is dedicated to Turville-Petre by a long list of scholars and institutions. I'm assuming these are the original purchasers of copies when the book was published. Christopher Tolkien is one of those listed.
At the back of the book, credit is given to Christopher Tolkien, along with several organizations, for making a donation to help cover the cost of the publication process. Additionally, tucked into the last page was a loose addendum card that added an additional donor.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the copy I bought came with an original receipt directly from the publisher. This identifies the purchaser as Robert Priestley from Melbourne, whose name is printed in the book as one of those dedicating the book to Turville-Petre.
In researching who Priestley was (he apparently went by "Bob"), I discovered this wonderful anecdote (link here: https://meanjin.com.au/memoir/in-fealty-to-a-professor/) from Ann Sedgley, a student at the University of Melbourne, about when Turville-Petre visited Australia to teach for two terms at the university.
"Professor Turville-Petre was little, stooped, bald, with jug ears and a slow, beautiful smile. You had the feeling that asking him a question yanked him back from some other world—he would answer very precisely and literally, with respect for the person who asked the question even when it was foolish. He had worked at Oxford with J.R.R. Tolkien, and, having recently read The Lord of the Rings with great enthusiasm, I asked Professor Turville-Petre what he thought of it. It was all right, he said gently, but perhaps a misuse of his talents: ‘In the time it took him to write Lord of the Rings, he could have brought out a truly definitive edition of Beowulf.’"
Thank goodness he took the time to write Lord of the Rings, but I do share Professor Turville-Petre's disappointment that Tolkien did not end up also preparing a truly definitive edition of Beowulf!
The book is dedicated to Turville-Petre by a long list of scholars and institutions. I'm assuming these are the original purchasers of copies when the book was published. Christopher Tolkien is one of those listed.
At the back of the book, credit is given to Christopher Tolkien, along with several organizations, for making a donation to help cover the cost of the publication process. Additionally, tucked into the last page was a loose addendum card that added an additional donor.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the copy I bought came with an original receipt directly from the publisher. This identifies the purchaser as Robert Priestley from Melbourne, whose name is printed in the book as one of those dedicating the book to Turville-Petre.
In researching who Priestley was (he apparently went by "Bob"), I discovered this wonderful anecdote (link here: https://meanjin.com.au/memoir/in-fealty-to-a-professor/) from Ann Sedgley, a student at the University of Melbourne, about when Turville-Petre visited Australia to teach for two terms at the university.
"Professor Turville-Petre was little, stooped, bald, with jug ears and a slow, beautiful smile. You had the feeling that asking him a question yanked him back from some other world—he would answer very precisely and literally, with respect for the person who asked the question even when it was foolish. He had worked at Oxford with J.R.R. Tolkien, and, having recently read The Lord of the Rings with great enthusiasm, I asked Professor Turville-Petre what he thought of it. It was all right, he said gently, but perhaps a misuse of his talents: ‘In the time it took him to write Lord of the Rings, he could have brought out a truly definitive edition of Beowulf.’"
Thank goodness he took the time to write Lord of the Rings, but I do share Professor Turville-Petre's disappointment that Tolkien did not end up also preparing a truly definitive edition of Beowulf!
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