I never quite understood why the Tolkien Estate doesn't own the copyright to
Bilbo's Last Song, so I dug and found this interesting bit in a press release from Random House:
Quote:
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The copyright of Bilbo’s Last Song was a gift from Tolkien to the young woman seconded from his publisher in the 1970’s to help him with his correspondence. He used to joke that if ever a diamond bracelet fell out of an envelope it would be hers. When she was helping him pack up his office before he moved house, Bilbo’s Last Song fell out of a book and she loved it so much he said it could be her diamond bracelet. The poem was not published in his lifetime but he left the copyright to her in his will and this is now owned by the Order of the Holy Paraclete.
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