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

The name Letters refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Letters (disambiguation).

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. 19?? to an unknown reader (draft; topic: Sindarin and Quenya)
4. 1932, A Philologist on Esperanto
5. March 16th, 1933 to Kenneth Sisam
6. September 7, 1937 to George Allen & Unwin
7. September 22, 1937 to Jane Neave
8. May 28th, 1938 to Kenneth Sisam
9. August 3, 1943 to Leila Keene and Pat Kirke
10. August 2, 1946 to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
11. March 11, 1949 to Miss Turnbull
12. June 4th, 1949 to Pauline Baynes
13. November 12th, 1949 to Miss How
14. 1951 to Milton Waldman
15. November 25, 1951 to Iona and Peter Opie
16. January 29th, 1954 to the Liège University
17. September 9th, 1954 to the Liège University
18. October 18th, 1954 to the Liège University
19. November 6th, 1954 to Robert Burchfield
20. 1955 to Mr David Masson
21. March 2nd, 1955 to Mr Derrick Parnum
22. May 2nd, 1955 to Miss Turnbull
23. May 19th, 1955 to W.N. Beard
24. May 19th, 1955 to Miss Turnbull
25. August 22nd, 1955 to John Roberts
26. September 1955 to Mr(s?) Souch
27. 1956, to unknown fan
28. January 1st, 1956 to Mr Polet
29. September 19, 1956 to Terence Tiller
30. December 20, 1956 to Deirdre Levinson
31. 1956-58, to Peter Alford (four letters)
32. 1957, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
33. June 26, 1957 to Deirdre Levinson
34. November 17th, 1957 to Dr. Herbert Schiro
35. November 19th, 1957 to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
36. 1958, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski (two letters)
37. May 27th, 1958 to Nancy Smith
38. October 14th, 1958 to Rhona Beare
39. October 26th, 1958 to Mrs L.M. Cutts
40. December 1959, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
41. 196?, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
42. 196? to Dorothy
43. Late 1960s, to Michael Blashka
44. June 1, 1961 to Jan Broberg
45. June 8, 1961 to Rhona Beare
46. February 1, 1962 to Cor Blok
47. November 14, 1962 to Captain H. Cotton Minchin
48. February 17, 1963 to Miss Julie Cape
49. October 21, 1963 to Mrs Munby
50. c. December 16, 1963 to Baronne A. Baeyens
51. Christmas 1963 to Nancy Smith
52. January 18, 1964 to Justin Arundale
53. January 20-26, 1964 to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
54. March 5, 1964 to Eileen Elgar
55. May 30th, 1964 to J. Sibley
56. June 13-15, 1964 to Mr. W.R. Matthews
57. July 10th, 1964 to Alan White
58. July 15th, 1964 to Miss J.L. Curry
59. November 11, 1964 to Clyde S. Kilby
60. December 31st, 1964 to Miss Ingeborg Korff
61. Late 1964 or early 1965 to Joan O. Falconer
62. October 20th, 1965 to Timothy J. Wheeler
63. December 18, 1965 to Clyde S. Kilby
64. January 7, 1966 to Roger Shaw
65. January 10th, 1966 to Timothy J. Wheeler
66. February 20th, 1966 to Donald A. Wollheim
67. 1966 to Rod Jellema
68. March 9, 1966 to Roger Verhulst
69. March 21st, 1966 to George Sayer
70. April 8, 1966 to Roger Verhulst
71. May 3, 1966 to Roger Verhulst
72. May 6th, 1966 to Martin M. Snapp, Jr.
73. May 30th, 1966 to Nancy Smith
74. July 29, 1966 to Michael George Tolkien (see also Letter 289)
75. October 11, 1966 to Clyde S. Kilby
76. October 17, 1966 to a Primary School in Acocks Green
77. November 7, 1966 to Gene Wolfe
78. c. 1966-67 to Dick Plotz
79. c. 1967-70 to Evelyn B. Byrne
80. August 28, 1967 to Mr Joukes
81. September 18, 1967 to Elise Honeybourne
82. December 4, 1967 to Roger Verhulst
83. December 21, 1967 to Elise Honeybourne
84. 1968 to Mr David Masson
85. January 29, 1968 to Humphrey Carpenter
86. January 29, 1968 to Ken Jackson
87. June 4, 1968 to Clyde S. Kilby
88. August 1968, to Ingrid Pridgeon
89. October 16, 1968 to Niall Hoskin
90. March 20, 1969 to Amy Ronald
91. April 10, 1969 to Mrs Mroczkowska
92. May 28, 1969 to Anthony D. Howlett
93. June 20, 1969 to Mr Paul Bibire
94. August 1st, 1969 to Mr Burrows
95. ?Early November 1969 to Leslie Holloway
96. 1971 to Hilary Tolkien
97. June 21, 1971 to Brian Miller
98. December 24, 1971 to Eileen Elgar
99. December 26, 1971 to Joy Hill
100. February 6, 1972 to Vera Chapman and the Tolkien Society
101. May 23, 1972 to sir Patrick Browne
102. October 12, 1972 to Rayner Unwin
103. March 8, 1973 to Clyde S. Kilby
104. April 20, 1973 to Dr. Denis Tolhurst
105. June 5, 1973 to James A.H. Murray
106. July 8, 1973 to Canon Norman Power
107. 19?? to Clyde Kilby
108. 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