Letter 253

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
← Letter 253 →
Recipient	Rayner Unwin
Date	23 December 1963
Subject(s)	Tree and Leaf

Letter 253 is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Summary

Tolkien responded to Rayner Unwin regarding earlier correspondence about the publication of Tree and Leaf and related matters. Stanley Unwin had not liked the title, but Rayner did. Rayner had also asked him for a suitable front cover design, obviously something featuring a tree. Tolkien dismissed Rayner's idea to take one from a medieval manuscript, simply because - as far as he knew - there are no such images. He did have various images of his own, as he regularly drew "mythical" trees when he was pattern-designing.

Other works - The Silmarillion, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - were progressing, though with recent events had created some delay.