|
 |
 | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| | You are in: Entertainment: Arts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | | Friday, 16 November, 2001, 18:05 GMT Tolkien archive fetches �58,000  The Fellowship of the Ring is released next month A rare collection of proof copies, first editions and letters by Lord of the Rings author JR Tolkien has fetched more than �58,000 at auction. The archive, which includes first editions of all three books in the bestselling trilogy, was snapped up for �58,750 by an anonymous telephone bidder. The final price at Christie's, in London, was about �25,000 more than had been expected. The auction was held in a climate of unusual interest in Tolkien ahead of the UK cinema release next month of The Fellowship of the Ring, an adaptation of the first book. 'Happy coincidence' A Christie's spokeswoman said the collection had sold "very, very well". "There were quite a number of interested parties before the sale, which helps to push up the price. "People are obviously very aware of Lord of the Rings at the moment, and it's a very happy coincidence that this has come up for sale." She added that the archive charted the "trials and tribulations" of writing the trilogy. The collection, which featured nine proof copies and first editions and 11 letters, was compiled by Tolkien's friend George Sayer.
In one, Tolkien thanks Mr Sayer for his "great kindness and generous support and help in the matter of the L.R. in the dark days of doubt". "You were extremely kind to me at a low ebb. And I believed your praise, somehow more than anyone else's," Tolkien wrote. The letters were all addressed to either Mr Sayer or his wife, and date from 1952 to 1971, with Tolkien signing himself either Ronald Tolkien, Tolkien, Ronald or JRRT. The earliest letter in the series asks for the return of a manuscript of The Lord of the Rings, as publishers George Allen & Unwin, were "clamouring to reconsider" the book. Popular The collection also contained proof copies and first editions of volumes including The Fellowship of the Rings Other works in the sale included The Hobbit or There and Back Again and The Rise and Wonderful Adventures of Farmer Giles, Lord of Tame.
The first of the three-part $300m (�209m) trilogy of films is released on 19 December. Sir Ian McKellan, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Liv Tyler and Elijah Wood star. The novel is regularly listed in surveys of the most popular books in Britain. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top Arts stories now:  Links to more Arts stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Links to more Arts stories |
 | | ^^ Back to top News Front Page | World | UK | UK Politics | Business | Sci/Tech | Health | Education | Entertainment | Talking Point | In Depth | AudioVideo ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To BBC Sport>> | To BBC Weather>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMIII|News Sources|Privacy  |
E-mail this story to a friend