Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth

[geordie]

One of the big events to have taken place in the last couple of years was this marvellous exhibition, held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, in 2018. How many here managed to go to it? What memories do you have?

https://tolkien.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/about-the-exhibition/

[Dorwiniondil]

Yes indeed! One item particularly interested me: Auden's letter, in which (among other things) he regretfully comments that the Shire will have to get used to more chimneys. :-(

[geordie]

One of the best things to have come out of the exhibition is this book, which serves both as a reminder of and a catalogue to the exhibition, as well as being an excellent book on Tolkien in its own right. It has many marvellous pictures and descriptions of the items on display, and also essays by some of the leading Tolkien scholars such as Hammond & Scull, Carl Hostetter, Shippey et al. One of my favourite Tolkien books of all time.

https://bodleianshop.co.uk/products/tol ... ardback%20

[Dorwiniondil]

The book is sheer delight. Apart from anything else, it's very well made physically.

[Lord of the Rings]

The book is indeed excellent - my only regret is that I got the softcover version instead of the hardback. In retrospect, the extra pounds would have been more than worth it.

I also really like Tolkien - Voyage en Terre du Milieu, both the exhibition in Paris and the associated book. The material was a bit less scholarly in focus, but it was still good, and the physical production of the book is really top-notch. The image reproductions there are some of the best I've seen in any Tolkien related publication, and the paper just feels really nice.

[Aodh Hammerhelm]

An amazing afternoon spent poring over the artefacts on show. The standout for me was the original M-e map with all its alterations and annotations. And, of course, having my kids along for the ride. I never bought any of the merch, the memories of the day were enough of a take home for me.

[geordie]

Hi, Lord of the Rings. Good to see you here!

I agree the French book is good, too - but I have next to no French myself, and must content myself with looking at the pictures.

[Reikon Suchi-ru]

I did not have a chance to visit the exhibition at the Bodleian Library, but as an archaeologist (and by extension a lover of material culture), it sounds completely fascinating and I wish I had had the chance to visit! The Maker of Middle-earth book is now on my to-buy list, thanks for the recommendation. :smiley8:

What was your favorite / the most interesting item at the exhibition, @geordie?

[geordie]

An amazing afternoon spent poring over the artefacts on show. The standout for me was the original M-e map with all its alterations and annotations..

Another map which took my eye was the printed one which had been removed from Pauline Baynes's copy of The Two Towers. Pauline had been commissioned by Allen & Unwin to paint a poster map of Middle-earth, and had visited Tolkien once or twice to discuss it with him. But Tolkien was unhappy with the maps they had available, and he said to Pauline, 'Isn't there a better map you can bring along next time?' - and so she did. This map is covered with annotations by Pauline (in blue ink) and by Tolkien (in green ink). Tolkien had provided a form of grid, in pencil; with Hobbiton at 0 for longitude and latitude, from which he reckoned distances to other points. For example, he noted that Minas Tirith is about the same latitude as Ravenna in Italy.

It was bought by the Bodleian Library from Blackwell's bookshop, whose premises are literally next door to the Library, in Broad St. I was lucky enough to be allowed to look at the map while it was in Blackwell's. That was a memorable afternoon!

here's a link to a page on the Bod's shop webpage -
https://bodleian.museoteca.com/web_prod ... pic_id=343

[FireroseArien]

I went to the exhibition when it was here in NYC and it was fantastic, I also got the book to take home. Tolkien was an incredibly gifted artist, and that penmanship makes me again.

There was a lot there, my only regret is we were not allowed to take photographs.

[geordie]

What was your favorite / the most interesting item at the exhibition, @geordie?

There were very many items; some I had seen before in other exhibitions and was glad to re-make their acquaintance, such as Tolkien's paintings for TH. His 'Conversation with Smaug' will always be a favourite of mine; the colours just glow, even after all these years.

And in a cabinet dedicated to Tolkien's WWI service there was the pencilled note which G.B. Smith had sent to Tolkien a little while before Smith's death on the Somme, which was quoted in Carpenter's biography. Smith signs off with -

''May God bless you, my dear John Ronald, and may you say the things I have tried to say long after I am not there to say them, if such be my lot.''

But there are other things too, neither dark nor sad - for instance the cabinet showing Tolkien's paints and drawing materials, along with originals from the Father Christmas Letters; and small personal possessions, such as his pipes.

[Dorwiniondil]

Also a very considered fan letter from a young Terence Pratchett, about Smith of Wootton Major.

[Lord of the Rings]

I have next to no French myself, and must content myself with looking at the pictures.

I haven't gotten through all the essays and comments in the French book myself, but from I have done I've found the discussions generally more basic and oriented toward a public less familiar with Tolkien (understandably enough!).

@Aodh Hammerhelm, do you mean Tolkien's many-layered Silmarillion map? That was one of my favourite things too (and one of the things I like about the French catalogue is its exceptionally good reproduction of it). I also really liked the photograph of Christopher Tolkien and his father taking a nap behind their house. And seeing the original pages of The Fall of Arthur. And... hmm, maybe I better stop before I just list everything there.

[Reikon Suchi-ru]

Also a very considered fan letter from a young Terence Pratchett, about Smith of Wootton Major.

Hmm for some reason that name sounds familiar!

[Eldy Dunami]

I got to see the exhibit when it was at The Morgan in New York last year. I took an intercity bus and stayed in the city for a couple nights since found a great deal on Airbnb (by Midtown Manhattan standards). I'd seen copies of much of the material on display before, but seeing it in person from just a few inches away was a whole different experience. I have trouble putting it into words beyond "wow", but it really got to me on an emotional level. One of the most striking things was how small many of the items were. The First Age heraldic designs near the door were the first things I looked at, and they were downright tiny compared to my vague expectations. Even the earliest Silmarillion map was smaller than I thought, though some of the other maps were fairly large. There was plenty of stuff I hadn't seen before, too, and I appreciated the descriptive labels, which lived up to all the good I'd heard about Catherine McIlwaine's work.

I honestly wasn't in a good place last April and I almost backed out at the last minute, but I knew I'd regret not taking an opportunity I might never have again, given how long it could be until there's a similarly comprehensive exhibition in the future. I'm really glad I got to go.

[Silky Gooseness]

The book is indeed excellent - my only regret is that I got the softcover version instead of the hardback. In retrospect, the extra pounds would have been more than worth it.

The hardback is beautifully made, but it is heavy. A big and glorious coffee table type tome - which has probably discouraged me from heaving it off the bookshelf and leafing through it as much as I otherwise would’ve done! I can’t imagine how it would be as a paperback as the solidity of the hardback seemed necessary to keep it all together! Do you have photos?

[Boromir88]

Like Eldy, I was able to view the exhibit when it was at the Morgan Library in NYC last year in April. When I found out about it I made sure I booked a vacation and went with a group of fellow Tolkien friends. The exhibit was absolutely packed and it was probably my most memorable Tolkien experience. I was pretty bummed when discovering this website was gone and I didn't know where to share it! Thank you geordie for starting this topic.

I think my fondest memory was just seeing Tolkien's artwork and hand drawn maps. And the penmanship! Of course the exhibit had cleaner examples of his letters on display, but the way he wrote was like an art form on it's own. It was remarkable to see it first hand.

[Almarëa Mordollwen]

I was able to visit it a couple of times while it was in Oxford - the artwork and the maps were just beautiful! Tolkien's heraldic designs for the various First Age characters were a particular highlight.

I can also say I made a very small contribution - the Bodleian reached out to Taruithorn, the Oxford Tolkien Society, to find a few people willing to record model Quenya pronunciations for a small, Rosetta-Stone-style interactive activity that taught a few words and phrases in Quenya, so I was one of a few volunteers who did some of the audio for it.

[geordie]

I have just been reminded that today, 1st June, marks the 2nd anniversary of the opening of the Bodleian exhibition. mrs geordie and I were there. What a day that was! :-)

[Olme]

I am quite jealous of all of you who were able to go. Unfortunately the trip across the pond just wasn't in the books. The book however, is possibly my favorite book about Tolkien, and I've recommended it to a number of friends who are interested in Tolkien and would like to know more about his life, his art, his mythology, etc., but just don't know where to start since there are so many different works covering so many of those different areas. This book somehow manages to touch on all of those things, be neither overly academic nor overly "introductory" (whatever I mean by that, I hope you get the gist), and look good doing it.
I think what I appreciate most about it is the reproduced watercolor images. "Eeriness", "Water, Wind & Sand", "The Land of Pohja", "The Shores of Faëry", they all blow me away.
Has anyone purchased prints of these from the Bodleian? I had plans to purchase several last fall, but other things took priority. And now after settling some weird housing uncertainty, would like to "celebrate" by finally purchasing the prints, but I don't know if the Bodleian is shipping now.