J. R. R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript BOOK now available

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“J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript” Catalog – Shop the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University

shophaggerty.com

I've received my copy and am well pleased with it. The hardcover book is covered with a kind of paper (I think) over boards that would stain easily, so you would want to handle it with care, but the book is well-made, with pages in sewn signatures, and dozens of reproductions of Tolkien's manuscripts, doodles, and beautiful calligraphy, many of which I didn't recognize as having seen before. Reproductions of medieval and Victorian works provide some context for what Tolkien was doing. This edition will be of interest to scholars and fans. I've seen a claim at the Tolkien Collector's Guide site, that just a limited number will be printed.

Marquette says, "The exhibition is accompanied by a 196-page hardbound catalogue that reproduces the complete object list." I'm grateful for that.

 

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Several versions of King Aragorn's letter to Mayor Samwise about His Majesty's visit to the Shire at the Brandywine Bridge, with his desire that Sam's family be present, are provided. They will intrigue many Tolkienists on account of the beauty of the calligraphy and the extensiveness of the Elvish composition with accompanying English translation. So far as I know, one version of the calligraphic Elvish letter has appeared in print before, but I don't think all of this material has.

Some of the Marquette reproductions are very small, but these of the King's Letter are larger. There was real thoughtfulness in the production of this book.

 

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Christopher Tolkien printed various versions of "Errantry" in the Treason of Isengard volume of The History of Middle-earth, but in the Marquette book you can see handwritten renderings (with annotations as Tolkien worked on the poem).

"Among his many gifts, the three which astound me most are his gift for inventing Proper Names, his gift for describing landscape, and (how I envy him this) his gift for calligraphy." -- W. H. Auden's liner notes to the LP Poems and Songs of Middle-earth

W.H. Auden's Tolkien ~ The Imaginative Conservative

W.H. Auden realized that J.R.R. Tolkien’s greatness was not simply the result of a capacity for the fantastic, but rather that it relied just as much on his scholarly acumen as on his imagination... (essay by E.J. Hutchinson)

theimaginativeconservative.org

 

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Here's some info that was sent to me. The Marquette book is out of print, I believe, though a paperback edition is promised. 150 euro might actually be a good deal for some Tolkienists.

The message:

The Art of the Manuscript catalogue is now listed in my webshop.

best,

René van Rossenberg
www.tolkienshop.com

Utrechtse Jaagpad 2
2313 KW Leiden
The Netherlands

 

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Good news -- the promised softcover edition of the lavish Marquette catalogue is now available:

“J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript” Catalog – Softcover, Second Edition – Shop the Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University

shophaggerty.com

But can that be right? -- it says "130 in stock." Is that all?