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
- August 8th, 1904 to Father Francis Morgan
- March 16th, 1933 to Kenneth Sisam
- May 28th, 1938 to Kenneth Sisam
- June 4th, 1949 to Pauline Baynes
- November 12th, 1949 to Miss How
- 1951 to Milton Waldman
- March 2nd, 1955 to Mr Derrick Parnum
- September 1955 to Mr(s?) Souch
- 1956-58, to Peter Alford
- November 17th, 1957 to Dr. Herbert Schiro
- May 27th, 1958 to Nancy Smith
- October 14th, 1958 to Rhona Beare
- October 26th, 1958 to Mrs L.M. Cutts
- June 8, 1961 to Rhona Beare
- October 21, 1963 to Mrs Munby
- c. December 16, 1963 to Baronne A. Baeyens
- Christmas 1963 to Nancy Smith
- May 30th, 1964 to J. Sibley
- December 31st, 1964 to Miss Ingeborg Korff
- October 20th, 1965 to Timothy J. Wheeler
- January 10th, 1966 to Timothy J. Wheeler
- February 20th, 1966 to Donald A. Wollheim
- May 6th, 1966 to Martin M. Snapp, Jr.
- May 30th, 1966 to Nancy Smith
- November 7, 1966 to Gene Wolfe
- c. 1966-67 to Dick Plotz
- September 18, 1967 to Elise Honeybourne
- January 29, 1968 to Ken Jackson
- 1969, May 28 to Anthony D. Howlett
- June 30, 1969 to Mr Paul Bibire
- 1971 to Hilary Tolkien
- 19?? to Clyde Kilby
Rumours
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 (provided by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull) contains discussions 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.
