First, some background about the show for those who don't receive the B.B.C.
The Antiques Roadshow has been a staple of Sunday afternoon viewing since 1977. Each week, a group of experts set up shop in a different location, to which members of the public bring antiques and curios to be examined and valued. The more interesting items are featured on the programme.
I arrived about half-way through this week's valuations, which took place in Gloucester. One item interested me from the start, since it was written on Merton College headed notepaper. Once I'd seen the peculiar handwriting I knew whose signature would be at the end of it, but there was an interesting story behind it. The owner had bought a copy of
The Fellowship of the Ring not long after publication, without realising that there were two more volumes to come. Having discovered that he had only a third of the book, and that the other two parts were not yet in print, he wrote to Tolkien and complained. Tolkien responded with a three-page reply, the contents of which I couldn't discover; but he began by consoling his reader, and presumably explaining the complications that led to the division. Tolkien's correspondant was asked about the films for some reason, but declared that he'd never seen them and disapproved of special effects. It was the only appearance of a books-only fan on television that I can remember.