Lot 238•
TOLKIEN (J.R.R.) The Lord of the Rings, 3 vol., FIRST EDITION, FIRST IMPESSIONS, AUTHOR'S PRESENTATION COPIES, George Allen and Unwin, [1954-1955]
7 – 20 June 2024, 12:00 BST
Online, London, KnightsbridgeSold for £46,080 inc. premium
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TOLKIEN (J.R.R.)
The Lord of the Rings, 3 vol., FIRST EDITION, FIRST IMPESSIONS, AUTHOR'S PRESENTATION COPIES, inscribed on the front free endpaper of the second volume to Margaret Wiseman ("M. from R./ J.R.R. Tolkien. 1954"), and signed ("J.R.R. Tolkien") in the other two volumes, with inscriptions added by recipients at the Abbey in the first and third volume, and shelf numbers and Abbey bookplates in all three, 'The Return of the King' without sagging text or signature mark 4, folding map at rear of each volume (the first detached), some foxing and staining confined to endpapers, publisher's cloth, some damp-staining and soiling, extremities worn, shelf marks on spines, lower joint of 'The Fellowship' crudely repaired with tape (inner hinges also repaired but split), 8vo, George Allen and Unwin, [1954-1955]
Footnotes
PRESENTATION COPIES FROM TOLKIEN TO MARGARET WISEMAN AT OULTON ABBEY.
The Two Towers is fully inscribed by Tolkien to Margaret Wiseman ("M. from R./ J.R.R. Tolkien. 1954"), in ink; The Fellowship of the Ring is signed in ink by Tolkien, with "Oulton Abbey, from the author. 1954" added in another hand, also in blue ink; The Return of the King is signed and dated 1955 by Tolkien in ink, with "From the author" added in pen above (along with letters R.H., crossed through in pencil), seemingly in the same hand as the previous added inscription. It seems likely that the additional inscriptions are in the hand of the recipient, the Benedictine nun Margaret Wiseman (see previous lot).
Provenance: Margaret Wiseman and Oulton Abbey, with Tolkien's inscription or signature in each volume, inscriptions from the recipient; Oulton Abbey bookplates and shelf marks.