Letters not published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

The The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien is a large collection of letters of Tolkien, but it is far from complete. Below are some letters that did not make it into the collection, or only partially.

Individual letters

1. August 8th, 1904 to Father Francis Morgan
2. 19??, to Joseph Wright
3. 1932, A Philologist on Esperanto
4. March 16th, 1933 to Kenneth Sisam
5. September 7, 1937 to George Allen & Unwin
6. September 22, 1937 to Jane Neave
7. May 28th, 1938 to Kenneth Sisam
8. August 3, 1943 to Leila Keene and Pat Kirke
9. August 2, 1946 to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
10. March 11, 1949 to Miss Turnbull
11. June 4th, 1949 to Pauline Baynes
12. November 12th, 1949 to Miss How
13. 1951 to Milton Waldman
14. November 25, 1951 to Iona and Peter Opie
15. January 29th, 1954 to the Liège University
16. September 9th, 1954 to the Liège University
17. October 18th, 1954 to the Liège University
18. November 6th, 1954 to Robert Burchfield
19. March 2nd, 1955 to Mr Derrick Parnum
20. May 2nd, 1955 to Miss Turnbull
21. May 19th, 1955 to W.N. Beard
22. May 19th, 1955 to Miss Turnbull
23. September 1955 to Mr(s?) Souch
24. January 1st, 1956 to Mr Polet
25. September 19, 1956 to Terence Tiller
26. 1956-58, to Peter Alford (four letters)
27. 1957, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
28. June 26, 1957 to Deirdre Levinson
29. November 17th, 1957 to Dr. Herbert Schiro
30. 1958, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski (two letters)
31. May 27th, 1958 to Nancy Smith
32. October 14th, 1958 to Rhona Beare
33. October 26th, 1958 to Mrs L.M. Cutts
34. December 1959, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
35. 196?, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
36. Late 1960s, to Michael Blashka
37. June 1, 1961 to Jan Broberg
38. June 8, 1961 to Rhona Beare
39. October 21, 1963 to Mrs Munby
40. c. December 16, 1963 to Baronne A. Baeyens
41. Christmas 1963 to Nancy Smith
42. January 20-26, 1964 to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
43. March 5, 1964 to Eileen Elgar
44. May 30th, 1964 to J. Sibley
45. June 13-15, 1964 to Mr. W.R. Matthews
46. July 10th, 1964 to Alan White
47. July 15th, 1964 to Miss J.L. Curry
48. December 31st, 1964 to Miss Ingeborg Korff
49. Late 1964 or early 1965 to Joan O. Falconer
50. October 20th, 1965 to Timothy J. Wheeler
51. January 7, 1966 to Roger Shaw
52. January 10th, 1966 to Timothy J. Wheeler
53. February 20th, 1966 to Donald A. Wollheim
54. 1966 to Rod Jellema
55. March 9, 1966 to Roger Verhulst
56. March 21st, 1966 to George Sayer
57. April 8, 1966 to Roger Verhulst
58. May 3, 1966 to Roger Verhulst
59. May 6th, 1966 to Martin M. Snapp, Jr.
60. May 30th, 1966 to Nancy Smith
61. July 29, 1966 to Michael George Tolkien (see also Letter 289)
62. November 7, 1966 to Gene Wolfe
63. c. 1966-67 to Dick Plotz
64. c. 1967-70 to Evelyn B. Byrne
65. August 28, 1967 to Mr Joukes
66. September 18, 1967 to Elise Honeybourne
67. December 4, 1967 to Roger Verhulst
68. December 21, 1967 to Elise Honeybourne
69. January 29, 1968 to Humphrey Carpenter
70. January 29, 1968 to Ken Jackson
71. August 1968, to Ingrid Pridgeon
72. March 20, 1969 to Amy Ronald
73. April 10, 1969 to Mrs Mroczkowska
74. May 28, 1969 to Anthony D. Howlett
75. June 30, 1969 to Mr Paul Bibire
76. August 1st, 1969 to Mr Burrows
77. ?Early November 1969 to Leslie Holloway
78. 1971 to Hilary Tolkien
79. June 21, 1971 to Brian Miller
80. December 24, 1971 to Eileen Elgar
81. December 26, 1971 to Joy Hill
82. February 6, 1972 to Vera Chapman and the Tolkien Society
83. May 23, 1972 to sir Patrick Browne
84. April 20, 1973 to Dr. Denis Tolhurst
85. July 8, 1973 to Canon Norman Power
86. 19?? to Clyde Kilby
87. 19?? to Richard Lupoff

Unexposed collections and rumours

Wheelbarrows at Dawn

Similarly to what was done in the Black & White Ogre Country: The Lost Tales of Hilary Tolkien, glimpses of the correspondence between J.R.R. Tolkien and his brother Hilary were supposed to be published in late 2010 in Wheelbarrows at Dawn: Memories of Hilary Tolkien. However, the publication of the latter book was cancelled, and the letters remain unpublished (as of November 2010).

Correspondence between Tolkien and R.W. Burchfield

During the years 1953-72, Tolkien corresponded with R.W. Burchfield. The collection of letters is kept at the Bodleian Library:

"Correspondence between J.R.R. Tolkien and R.W. Burchfield, 1953-72. / Shelfmark: MS. Eng. c. 7284, fols. 1-16. / Extent: 16 leaves. / Comprises ten manuscript, and typescript letters, and one copy letter from Tolkien to Burchfield, relating to Burchfield's attendance at tutorials, his search for housing in Oxford, his application for funding for his research, his search for an academic post, his congratulations on the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring, an extension for his work on 'Ormulum', and Tolkien's edition of Ancrene Wisse: The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle, and one letter from Burchfield to Tolkien relating to the printing of Ancrene Wisse. Also a description of the letters by Elizabeth Burchfield, widow of R.W. Burchfield. / Acquisition: Bequest of R.W. Burchfield, per Elizabeth Burchfield, Dec. 2004."

― Guard-book of miscellaneous items, 19th-20th cent., retreived June 28, 2010

Letters to Simonne d'Ardenne

John and Priscilla Tolkien mention briefly in The Tolkien Family Album that Simonne d'Ardenne: "was especially close to Priscilla, up until her death in 1986. She entrusted to Priscilla a great bundle of letters she had received from J.R.R.T. over a period of forty years." (p.68). This large collection of letters seems never to have reached a publication.

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (expanded edition)

On February 2nd, 2004, TheOneRing.net featured an article on the Tolkien Convention in Brussels. An expanded edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien was promised:

"...on the occasion of TFY's presentation on January 19, Marco Respinti and Oronzo Cilli, in the presence of Elisabetta Sgarbi (Editorial Director of Bompiani), spoke of the possibility of a revision of the Italian edition of Tolkien's letters, gathered by his son Christopher and his official biographer, Humprey Carpenter. Bompiani decided to publish a new edition, revised and enlarged, and the Italian Tolkien Society is in contant with an english publisher to have an international version of the book. The volume will be introduced by an essay of Priscilla Tolkien and it will boast contributions by Tolkien experts as Mike Foster, Christopher Garbowski, Brian Rosebury, Andrew McMurry, Paolo Paron, Gianfranco de Turris, Adolfo Morganti, Marco Respinti, Oronzo Cilli, Stefano Giuliano, Jimmy Chavez, Jeroen Van Den Berg, David Beatene and many others. In fact Cilli has managed to obtain from the British Public Record Office the rights to the publication of some documents regarding Tolkien's experience in the First World War. The new edition might include these new documents (never published before in any book) and a short essay on Tolkien and the war."

The Tea Towel Letter

The web site Tolkien Collector's Guide has an article (on a rare tea towel) with a reference from a supposedly unpublished letter. The background is that George Allen and Unwin in 1971 commissioned the towel, featuring a map by Pauline Baynes, on the occasion of a celebration. The author of the article says: "[...] it is clear Tolkien was there, since I read in an (unpublished) letter he himself had received such a teatowel at the 'party' or 'meeting' and was very happy with it."

• External link: Tea Towel

Hoaxes

The Letters, Part II

Throughout the early issues of Vinyar Tengwar, there was reference to "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien part II", but it was revealed to be a hoax.

Dr. Higgins and possible eBay frauds

The forum of the renowned website Tolkien Collector's Guide contains discussions (in which Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull have taken part) on a circulation on eBay of possible fraud Tolkien letters. Among these are said to be letters adressed to a "Dr. Higgins". Many of these contested letters are typewritten, with a signature by J.R.R. Tolkien in blue ink.

• 19?? to Dr. Higgins

External links

• Marquette University collection of Tolkien letters
• Tolkien Collector's Guide