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632

J. R. R. Tolkien

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:2,000.00 - 2,500.00 USD
J. R. R. Tolkien

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Auction Date:2010 Dec 08 @ 19:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Financial register page, headed at the top “Fine 2/6,” 8 x 9.75, lightly-lined, dated between May 13, 1912, up to June 1, 1912, signed under the stamp date of May 18, 1912, “J. R. R. Tolkien, Exeter,” along with three others. Page is signed on both sides by a total of 30 men overall, most also listing their college, almost all being recorded as paying £1.7.6. A central horizontal fold, crease to lower right corner, and red damp-staining to edges, extending into the page, rough edge from removal from ledger, and check marks next to entries, otherwise very good condition. Tolkien’s signature remains crisp and bold despite the page’s flaws.

It would be a while before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings made it into print, but the inspiration for Bilbo Baggins’ journey across the Misty Mountains was already laid by the time young Tolkien signed this register. He arrived at Exeter College in 1911 at the age of 19 with a £60 annual scholarship. Having barely tapped into his creative potential, he admitted in a letter years later that a Swiss hiking trip in the summer of 1911 was behind his famous Hobbit’s journey. Perhaps it was the vision of a fantasy novel that distracted Tolkien in his studies and caused Exeter’s chief disciplinarian to label him ‘lazy.’ A warning in the summer of 1912 that he might lose his annual scholarship money—the equivalent of £4,000 today—resulted in a later assessment that his behavior had ‘much improved.’ A precious signature from the respected and beloved creator of Middle-earth.
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