Exhibition highlights include:
- Draft manuscripts of The Hobbit showing the evolution of the story displayed alongside striking watercolours, dust jacket designs, line drawings and maps drawn for the publication;
- Original manuscripts of The Lord of The Rings along with dust jacket designs and beautiful watercolours;
- Original manuscripts of The Silmarillion, Tolkien's very earliest work on the legends of the elves, which was unfinished during his lifetime and then published posthumously by his son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien;
- Photos and letters from Tolkien's childhood and student days exploring themes of love, loss and war;
- Letters of appreciation from a wide range of admirers including poet WH Auden, singer Joni Mitchell and author Iris Murdoch;
- Personal objects that belonged to Tolkien including his art materials (boxes of paints, coloured pencils and sealing wax) and his personal library;
- A selection of maps of Middle-earth including a recently discovered map annotated by Tolkien, which was acquired by the Bodleian in 2016; and
- A specially-commissioned 3-D map of Middle-earth.
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated book, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, written by Tolkien archivist Catherine McIlwaine, released by Bodleian Library Publishing on 1 June 2018, priced at £40, hardback. A paperback edition will be available only at Bodleian Library Shops, priced at £25. The book brings together the largest collection of original Tolkien material ever assembled in a single volume. More details at www.bodleianshop.co.uk
The Bodleian Libraries house the largest collection of original Tolkien manuscripts and drawings in the world. The Tolkien Archive has been kept at the Bodleian since 1979. The latest addition to the archive is a recently discovered map of Middle-earth annotated by J.R.R.Tolkien, which was acquired in May 2016. Tolkien spent almost the whole of his adult life in Oxford and it is the city where studied, taught, researched and wrote his most famous works.
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth is made possible through the generosity of The Tolkien Trust. The Bodleian Libraries gratefully acknowledges the close collaboration of the Tolkien Estate and the Tolkien family.
Entrance to this exhibition is free but ticketed and can be booked at tolkien.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Following its inauguration in Oxford, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth travels to the Morgan Library, New York, from 25 January to 12 May 2019. In late 2019, the Bodleian Libraries and Bibliothèque nationale de France (BNF), Paris will collaborate on the largest Tolkien exhibition ever to be held in France.
Image credits, top to bottom:
Hobbit Dust Jacket, MS. Tolkien Drawings 32.
© The Tolkien Estate Ltd 1937
Photo of Tolkien in Botanic Garden, MS. Tolkien photogr. 8, fol. 122.
© The Tolkien Trust 1977
Bilbo comes to the huts of the Raft-elves, MS. Tolkien Drawings 29
© The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937
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