John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973)
09.07.2025 10:30UTC +01:00
Classic
To bid, go to the website
CHRISTIE'SAuctioneer | CHRISTIE'S |
---|---|
Event location | United Kingdom, London |
Buyer Premium | see on Website% |
ID 1450374
Lot 44 | John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973)
Estimate value
3000GBP £ 3 000 – 5 000
Typed letter signed (‘J.R.R. Tolkien’) to Miss Julie Cape, Oxford, 17 February 1963
One page, 252 x 202mm (two small holes at folds). Envelope. Provenance: RR Auctions, 9 November 2011, lot 655; Hermitage Fine Art, Monaco, 17 June 2021, lot 834.
Leaving behind the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings for the Silmarillion. ‘Thank you very much for your nice letter. I was very pleased that you wrote to tell me you enjoyed The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. As for writing more about the same characters, I have written almost all there is to write about them. But I hope you will recognize some of the characters in another book I am busy writing, called The Silmarillion, which I hope will soon be finished. Please give my best wishes to your family and sister, it sounds as if I have many friends amongst them’.
Following the enormous success of The Hobbit (1937), Tolkien was pressed by his publisher for sequel. He set aside the largely written but unfinished Silmarillion to begin work on what was to become The Lord of the Rings (1954). The Silmarillion manuscript continued to grow, as Tolkien imagined in greater detail the earlier history of Middle-earth and introduced some of the key characters from the LOTR, but would remain unpublished on his death, in spite of the hopes expressed here. It was left to his son, Christopher Tolkien, to edit and bring the work to publication in 1977.
Artist: | John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892 - 1973) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | Northern Europe, Europe, United Kingdom |
Auction house category: | Letters, documents and manuscripts, Books and manuscripts |
Artist: | John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892 - 1973) |
---|---|
Place of origin: | Northern Europe, Europe, United Kingdom |
Auction house category: | Letters, documents and manuscripts, Books and manuscripts |
Address of auction |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London United Kingdom | |
---|---|---|
Preview |
| |
Phone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
Buyer Premium | see on Website | |
Conditions of purchase | Conditions of purchase |
More from Creator
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.