Christopher Tolkien to finish lost Middle Earth novel

[davem]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

It matters not to me if they are worth the issue price of under thirty dollars or if someone on ebay manages to get a thousand dollars for one. I merely want one signed copy to go with the rest of my collection. I imagine many others are in the same boat.

Of course - yet there will never be 2,500 signed copies. There will inevitably be a limit & because of that the ones there are should be made more widely available. Certainly it would be nice if every copy was signed. Yet rarity is special. To own something rare appeals to our natural egotism if nothing else - but I think there is more to it than that. I have books that were owned by Michael Tolkien, given him by his father. No-one else has them because they're unique & therefore 'special'. Its the chance discovery, the 'odd' coincidences that lead to such things, that make them special. The chase, the possibility of not obtaining them for oneself, & the holding of them when you eventually do get them, is part of what makes it special.

When I heard about the books I have I wanted them, & the whole process of contacting the seller, waiting with anticipation for a reply, sending off the cheque, even worrying whether they would get lost in the post( ) was all part of the excitement. Even the disappointment that I'd have felt if I hadn't got them added to the whole thing.

Having so many copies available to so few people which are innaccessible to the rest of us is unfair. I want all fans to have a fair & equal chance of getting the signed copies that there are. That way I'd mind less if I didn't get one myself - because I'd know I'd had as much chance as anyone else, & that the ones who did get them didn't get them just because of where they happened to live, or enough money to buy them on ebay.

[Sauron the White]

davem - WOW!!! You have books that came from the Tolkien family. That is extremely impressive and I appreciate your telling of the tale of how you obtained them. It helps me understand your position.

There is one thing in your post which seems to be crucial. You say

I want all fans to have a fair & equal chance of getting the signed copies that there are.

The fly in the ointment is always how you define these things. What to you is fair and equal chance? Can there ever really be such things?

[davem]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

The fly in the ointment is always how you define these things. What to you is fair and equal chance? Can there ever really be such things?

No, but it could be fairer than it seems it will be.

As to the books - I've told the story elsewhere on the Downs. And the dealer who bought Michael Tolkien's library still has books of his for sale (or had last time I was in touch), so they aren't hard to get hold of - hence, owning such books is not a rare thing, but its special to own such things when there's only one (or a few) of each. I'm sure the dealer would like to sell them on to anyone who's interested - its his business after all, so anyone who's interested can own something with a family connection fairly easily & relatively cheaply (the six volume set of Gibbon was £100).

In fact, here you go
http://www.abebooks.com/home/NEILEWART/

And a couple of Tolkien books owned by Michael Tolkien here
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...n&x=0&sortby=2

[Mithalwen]

Adam Tolkien is going to be at the Waterstones all day launch thang

[davem]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Adam Tolkien is going to be at the Waterstones all day launch thang

So are you going still going as Nienor?

[davem]

http://tolkiennews.net/article.php?s...07032812464431

FREE signed bookplates for the first fifty people through doors at Waterstones in London.

I like to feel this is all down to my protest here on the Downs over the matter.

However, New York & London aren't the only places where Tolkien fans live, so its only a slight improvement on a bad situation....

so far

At the 1992 Tolkien Centenary Conference in Oxford attendees were each given a cassette recording by Christopher Tolkien of 'The Homecoming of Beortnoth' which have never been made available elsewhere - but they at least went to serious fans (well to serious fans who could afford to attend a week long Tolkien Conference........).

Wrong. http://www.tolkienshop.com/contents/en-uk/d42.html says:

Christopher Tolkien reads Beorhtnoth's Death and Ofermod € 17,95
The cd is introduced by Christopher Tolkien. A nice recording Tokien made in his study of the Medieval poem. He makes his own sound effects (and you can hear a car going through the street...)

True, it's not an original cassette, but the recording itself is the important part, isn't it? It's very interesting to hear Tolkien chant part of the Dies Irea.