A precious letter that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote to an 8-year-old boy in 1961 is predicted to fetch £10,000 ($12,730) at auction.
“The Lord of the Rings” author penned the note to a boy named Christopher Howard, who had written to him after his mother read “The Hobbit” to him and his brother Nicky.
“My mother was an English teacher who would read bedtime stories to my younger brother and I, and when we were aged 6 and 8, she started reading ‘The Hobbit’ to us,” Mr. Howard, a renewable energy consultant from Wye, near Canterbury, Kent, said.
Mr. Howard, now 71, quickly realized that he wanted to read the book for himself, which he did.
“The magical effect of reading words that created pictures in my mind amazed me,” he said. “I could see the dragon, Smaug, in his lair, the Dwarves in their mountain halls, Wizards, Orcs, and of course, Hobbits.”
Curious to know if the author had written any other fantasy novels, Mr. Howard wrote a letter, which was sent by his mother to the publisher of “The Hobbit,” George Allen & Unwin.
“They passed it on to Professor Tolkien, who replied in a letter dated Dec. 28, 1961,” Mr. Howard said. “You can imagine how thrilled I was to receive this letter.
“Immediately, on seeing the envelope, Professor Tolkien’s beautiful handwriting transported our home straight to Middle Earth.”
He said for him it became, “Asmall Lodge, Asmall Lane, Ormskirk, Lancashire.”
According to Mr. Howard, in his reply, Mr. Tolkien carefully addressed every point in his letter, referred to his younger brother, Nicky, mentioned characters in “The Hobbit”, and informed him in detail about the other books he had written.
Mr. Tolkien also warned Mr. Howard that the plot is “grim and frightening,” adding that the books are “very expensive” and suggested he borrow them from a library. He also mentioned that “The Hobbit” had been written “specially for reading aloud.”
The letter, beautifully hand-written with a fountain pen on headed paper, displays Tolkien’s Oxford address at the time—76 Sandfield Road, Headington—and his phone number.
Mr. Howard saved the letter and envelope safely tucked in a box for 63 years.
The letter is expected to fetch between £8,000 and £10,000 ($10,185 and $12,730) but could possibly sell for far more when it goes under the hammer at Hansons Ross on April 12.
Amanda Butler, head of operations at Hanson Ross, said: “It’s a wonderful find, a very touching, kind, and personal letter.”
She added that Mr. Tolkien was a busy man and yet he found time during Christmas to write to a young fan.
Below Is the Full Letter That Professor Tolkien Wrote:
December 28th, 1961 76 Sandfield Road, Headington, OxfordDear Christopher,
Thank you very much indeed for your letter. I was very pleased to have it, and I liked learning about the parts that specially pleased you. I don’t think Nicky missed much as The Hobbit was specially written for reading aloud.
Though, of course, it is, I think, more fun to do the readings, and there are lots of books that can only be taken in quietly by oneself.
I am sorry that I did not get this off in time to wish you both a Merry Christmas, since yours arrived in good time for my Christmas, but there is a lot to do just before the 25th. But I wish you a very happy New Year.
I have in fact written other books in which Hobbits play a main part, and Bilbo makes an appearance - though not as a chief character as he is getting very old (60 years have gone by) and the story began on his 111th Birthday. (Which he calls eleventy-first and not hundred and eleventh!).
But this book or books is very long (about 6 times as long as The Hobbit), and is in 3 volumes (1) The Fellowship of the Rings (2) The Two Towers (3) The Return of the Kings.
This is largely about Bilbo’s magic rings and Gandalf and Gollum are very important in it. I am afraid it’s very expensive, but it can be got out of any good public library.
Some I am told keep several copies as it is in demand. There is not much fun in it though at the beginning, which is in Bilbo’s village, the Hobbits behave in their usual comic way but they soon get involved in very grim and rather frightening adventures which make old Smaug seem almost harmless by contrast.
If it’s any colder in Lancashire than it is down here then you must be frozen stiff.
It was as cold here last night as in Sweden and has been freezing hard all day. I put some water out for the birds this morning at half past ten in the bright sunshine and it was frozen solid by lunch time.
Yours sincerely
J R R Tolkien
