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
1900s
1920s
1930s
- 1932, A Philologist on Esperanto
- 16 March 1933, to Kenneth Sisam
- 23 December 1934, to G.H. Cowling
- 7 September 1937, to George Allen & Unwin
- 22 September 1937, to Jane Neave
- 28 May 1938, to Kenneth Sisam
1940s
- 3 August 1943, to Leila Keene and Pat Kirke
- 2 August 1946, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
- 28 January 1949, to the editor of The Times
- 11 March 1949, to Miss Turnbull
- 4 June 1949, to Pauline Baynes
- 12 November 1949, to Miss How
1950s
- 1951, to Milton Waldman
- 25 November 1951, to Iona and Peter Opie
- 29 January 1954, to the Liège University
- 9 September 1954, to the Liège University
- 18 October 1954, to the Liège University
- 6 November 1954, to Robert Burchfield
- 1955, to Mr David Masson[1]
- 2 March 1955, to Mr Derrick Parnum
- 2 May 1955, to Miss Turnbull
- 19 May 1955, to W.N. Beard
- 19 May 1955, to Miss Turnbull
- 22 August 1955, to John Roberts
- September 1955, to Mr(s?) Souch
- 1956, to unknown fan
- 1 January 1956, to Mr Polet
- 28 April 1956, to Deirdre Levinson
- 13 June 1955, to Deirdre Levinson
- 19 September 1956, to Terence Tiller
- 20 December 1956, to Deirdre Levinson
- 1956-58, to Peter Alford (four letters)
- 26 June 1957, to Deirdre Levinson
- 17 November 1957, to Dr. Herbert Schiro
- 9/10 November 1957, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
- 19 November 1957, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
- 1958, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski (two letters)
- 27 May 1958, to Nancy Smith
- 14 October 1958, to Rhona Beare
- 26 October 1958, to Mrs L.M. Cutts
- December 1959, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
1960s
- 196?, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
- 196?, to Dorothy
- Late 1960s, to Michael Blashka
- 23 May 1961, to Rayner Unwin
- 1 June 1961, to Jan Broberg
- 8 June 1961, to Rhona Beare
- 1 February 1962, to Cor Blok
- 14 November 1962, to Captain H. Cotton Minchin
- 17 February 1963, to Miss Julie Cape
- 21 October 1963, to Mrs Munby
- c. 16 December 1963, to Baronne A. Baeyens
- Christmas 1963, to Nancy Smith
- 18 January 1964, to Justin Arundale
- 20-26 January 1964, to Przemyslaw Mroczkowski
- 5 March 1964, to Eileen Elgar
- 30 May 1964, to J. Sibley
- 13-15 June 1964, to Mr. W.R. Matthews
- 10 July 1964, to Alan White
- 15 July 15 1964, to Miss J.L. Curry
- 11 November 1964, to Clyde S. Kilby
- 31 December 1964, to Miss Ingeborg Korff
- Late 1964 or early 1965, to Joan O. Falconer
- 20 October 1965, to Timothy J. Wheeler
- 18 December 1965, to Clyde S. Kilby
- 7 January 1966, to Roger Shaw
- 10 January 1966, to Timothy J. Wheeler
- 20 February 1966, to Donald A. Wollheim
- 1966, to Rod Jellema
- 9 March 1966, to Roger Verhulst
- 21 March 1966, to George Sayer
- 8 April 1966, to Roger Verhulst
- 3 May 1966, to Roger Verhulst
- 6 May 1966, to Martin M. Snapp, Jr.
- 30 May 1966, to Nancy Smith
- 29 July 1966, to Michael George Tolkien (see also Letter 289)
- 29 July 1966, to Max Rouslin
- 11 October 1966, to Clyde S. Kilby
- 17 October 1966, to a Primary School in Acocks Green
- 7 November 1966, to Gene Wolfe
- c. 1966-67, to Dick Plotz
- c. 1967-70, to Evelyn B. Byrne
- 28 August 1967, to Mr Joukes
- 18 September 1967, to Elsie Honeybourne
- 4 December 1967, to Roger Verhulst
- 21 December 1967, to Elsie Honeybourne
- 1968, to Mr David Masson[1]
- 29 January 1968, to Humphrey Carpenter
- 29 January 1968, to Ken Jackson
- 4 June 1968, to Clyde S. Kilby
- August 1968, to Ingrid Pridgeon
- 16 October 1968, to Niall Hoskin
- 20 March 1969, to Amy Ronald
- 10 April 1969, to Mrs Mroczkowska
- 28 May 1969, to Anthony D. Howlett
- 20 June 1969, to Mr Paul Bibire
- 1 August 1969, to Mr Burrows
- ?Early November 1969, to Leslie Holloway
1970s
- ?Late summer or autumn 1970, to a Mr. Wood
- 1971, to Hilary Tolkien
- 21 June 1971, to Brian Miller
- 24 December 1971, to Eileen Elgar
- 26 December 1971, to Joy Hill
- 6 February 1972, to Vera Chapman and the Tolkien Society
- 23 May 1972, to sir Patrick Browne
- 12 October 1972, to Rayner Unwin
- 8 March 1973, to Clyde S. Kilby
- 20 April 1973, to Dr. Denis Tolhurst
- 5 June 1973, to James A.H. Murray
- 8 July 1973, to Canon Norman Power
Unknown year
- 19?? to Clyde Kilby
- 19?? to Richard Lupoff
- 19??, to Joseph Wright
- 19?? to an unknown reader (draft; topic: Sindarin and Quenya)[2]
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.
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 40
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 127