Valuable Printed Books and Manuscripts

Notes
This catalogue includes several Tolkien-related lots, the most notable being:

Lot 546 (p.256) - Tolkien's annotated personal copy of the two volume Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Two notes are reproduced in photographs - one is associated with the entry for 'Fairy', while the other is a definition for 'Bag-end'.

Lot 549 (p.259) - A specially bound first edition set of The Lord of the Rings. The lot description quotes from a letter and note by Tolkien to Peter Alford regarding titles for each of the six books.

Lot 550 (pp.260-1) - A group of four letters to Peter Alford dated 14 January 1956 to 2 April 1958 - The lot description includes quotes discussing The Lord of the Rings and a visit to Holland for a 'Hobbit Dinner'. Six pages from the letters are reproduced in a photograph.

Lot 552 (pp.262-3) - A letter to Pauline Baynes dated 4 June 1949 - The lot description includes extracts mentioning Famer Giles of Ham and The Lord of the Rings. The first page of the letter is reproduced in a photograph.

Lot 554 (pp.264-5) - Four letters to Pauline Baynes dating from 23 November 1961 to 3 August 1962 - the lot description includes quotes discussing The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. Five pages from the letters are reproduced in a photograph. (This lot was offered again in a later Sotheby's catalogue, see Lot 789)

Lot 557 (p.266) - A letter to Anthony D. Howlett dated 28 May 1969 - The lot description includes extracts discussing the name 'Rivendell'. The first page of the letter is reproduced in a photograph.

The letters are not included in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981).