By
dis
12 Mar, 2019
2019-3-12 11:04:06 PM UTC
I am writing on behalf of a scholar who wishes to know if JRR Tolkien ever owned Prescott's Conquest of Mexico; and, if so, was it the 1922 Chatto & Windus edition with illustrations by Keith Henderson.
This is for a source study.
We are not interested in the condition or collector's value of this book, only in whether or not Tolkien owned it (and, hopefully, looked at or read it).
Can anyone help with this?
Directions to sale catalogs of books from Tolkien's library would also be appreciated.
Thanks, Dis
13 Mar, 2019
2019-3-13 7:24:53 AM UTC
13 Mar, 2019
2019-3-13 4:12:46 PM UTC
I second what
Éarendel has said - reach out to
Tolkieniano and he might be able to help. His forthcoming book is likely to be the definitive reference for what books were in Tolkien's library.
13 Mar, 2019
2019-3-13 6:47:11 PM UTC
I third that! Tolkieniano is your best bet.
14 Mar, 2019
2019-3-14 6:30:17 AM UTC
Sorry for my delayed response. I have cataloged over 2600 books that Tolkien has read, bought, borrowed, used for his essays or for his lectures at the University and among them there is no Prescott's Conquest of Mexico.
This does not mean that you never read or had the book, only that I did not find any information that possessed it.
I also checked the list of books that belonged to Tolkien sons, John, Priscilla and Michael (about 150) and I found nothing.
The only reference to a book on Mexico is to "Mexico, the land of unrest: being chiefly an account of what produced the outbreak in 1910, together with the story of the revolutions down to this day" by Henry Baerlein.
Tolkien cites this book in a letter to Mr. Killion (20 August 1913), when he accompanied a Mexican group on a trip to France:
"Jose, the most thoughtful of the three, was very anxious to have a huge tome that he caught sight of ... 'Mexico the Land of Unrest' a meticulous history (by an Englishman I think) of the revolution - but I thought it a little too hard for his digestion yet."
(Scull-Hammond, Chronology, 2006, p. 45.)
I'm sorry I can't help you with that book, but if you find more information, I ask you to share it with us.
14 Mar, 2019
2019-3-14 2:16:37 PM UTC
Tolkieniano wrote:
I have cataloged over 2600 books that Tolkien has read, bought, borrowed, used for his essays or for his lectures at the University
This book of yours is one that excites me, I look forward to using it.
16 Mar, 2019
2019-3-16 8:00:57 AM UTC
onthetrail wrote:
Tolkieniano wrote:
I have cataloged over 2600 books that Tolkien has read, bought, borrowed, used for his essays or for his lectures at the University
This book of yours is one that excites me, I look forward to using it.
Mee too. Can't wait!
16 Mar, 2019
2019-3-16 2:04:31 PM UTC
Out of 2,600 books, may I ask how many books Tolkien actually owned and were inscribed by him?
17 Mar, 2019
2019-3-17 5:03:57 AM UTC
Thanks! I will forward your information to the person requesting it.
Dis
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