I have been poking fun in the "Coming of Age" thread at the fireplace formerly belonging to Tolkien, which is now available for a mere 250,000 pounds. But I have to admit that I would have loved to scrape up the $20,000 for this one on e-bay, if only to turn around and donate it back to the estate:
Original manuscript of Bilbo's Last Song for sale along with the accompanying painting by Pauline Baynes.
I have a very battered poster which is a copy of that painting, and it has to be my favorite illustration of the final scene in the book...in fact, one of my very favorites of all the illustrations from LotR. There is something so soft and gentle about that depiction of Frodo's departure from the Havens with his friends standing poignantly on shore.
It's funny, but my own view is very different that that of the seller. He moans about all Tolkien's manuscripts that are "locked away" in Marquette and Oxford, and rejoices that this one is on the public market. However, my feeling is just the opposite. I wonder if these manuscripts or the painting will ever see the light of day again, or if they will be permanently squirrelled away in someone's private collection.
I have often wondered how the family felt that so many of Tolkien's manuscripts were negotiated away across the pond to Marquette rather than being kept in the UK, which is ideally where they belong. (I say this as a "Yank", and I have similar mixed feelings about the vast number of Egyptian antiquities floating around in both the U.S. and the U.K.) I wonder how this treasure ended up in the hands of what seems to be a U.S. dealer? Perhaps it was sold by Joy Hill's heirs. It's also interesting that Peter Jackson wanted to have this poem sung by Annie Lennox at the end of the movie but was unable to do so, since he lacked proper copyright clearance.
Rather somber thoughts for the Mirth forum, I admit....