1st version of the preamble of the 3rd sandbox:
This page requires some explanation. First of all, by "material", we mean all the written things by J.R.R. Tolkien that have survived today, this includes a large amount of manuscripts and typescripts, and also drawings, sketches, maps, and calligraphy. Within this there is a division: materials that have been published, and those that are unpublished. Theoretically, all that is published should have been available to the general reader, but in reality, that is often not the case. There are many reasons for this, but that is the discussion for somewhere else.
The point is, in this page's creator's view, there is another distinct division within the category which we call the "published material", and that is the accessible material and the inaccessible. To the editor, if a piece of material has been published, but is for whatever reason difficult to access for today's general public, then that piece is as good as unpublished.
Hence, the goal of this page, is to list out for the reader, what Tolkien materials there are that you can actually read; and to point out where you can find it.
The Publication of Materials by J.R.R. Tolkien
The page attempts to record, or describe, all the materials left by J.R.R. Tolkien, insofar as they have been officially published, and also insofar as they are reasonably accessible to the average reader today.
Hence, this list doe not aim for completion, but aims for showing the reader "what Tolkien materials are there" which he can simply "go grab and read". Everything that is hard to find, or hard to access/buy, is excluded from this list.
Notes about this list:
1: This list is in reverse chronological order.
2: The materials are grouped by their respective publications.
3: Each unique material is listed only once,
if it appears in multiple publications, it is listed under the most prevalent one.