JRR Tolkien Collectors of Tolkien memorabilia may be interested in a signature of JRR Tolkien (accompanied by a letter from his secretary JM Tolhurst) that will go to auction next week in Poole in the UK.

According to the auctioneers, Cottees, Tolkien inscribed the autograph for a Mrs Gould in March 1971. Mrs Gould then worked for the Department of Health and Social Security in the Pensions Department and met Tolkien on several occasions to assist with problems with his pension.

At the time, Tolkien offered her some signed books but her contract prevented her from accepting ‘gratuities’. Instead he sent the signed slip of paper to her home which she could then attach to one of her own books. Continue reading “Tolkien signature to be auctioned in Poole next week”

Welcome to the Week in Tolkien Cosplay!  Each week we’ll be picking a few of our favorite Tolkien-inspired costumes.  If you’d like to be considered for an upcoming post, please send in your photo and the following information to cosplay@theonering.net:

  • Name (can be a nickname if you’d rather not have your secret identity revealed)
  • Who you are cosplaying as
  • Photographers name (if known)
  • A short bio (such as: who made the costume, how long it took to make, and any other details about it you’d like to share

Continue reading “The Week in Tolkien Cosplay – February 26, 2016”

Sean Astin at RingCon 2012 Born on February 25, 1971, Sean Astin turns 45 today!

Astin — actor, director, voice artist and producer — is, of course, best known to Tolkien fans as Sam Gamgee in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, but has also made his mark in a career spanning more than 70 films roles, including The Goonies, Toy Soldiers, 50 First Dates and as the indomitable, never-say-die working class hero of Rudy. Continue reading “Happy birthday to Sean Astin!”

Colouring books have lately had an enormous resurgence in popularity among adults, and Harper Collins and Warner Bros Consumer Products are doing their bit to help it along with the announcement of an official The Lord of the Rings Movie Trilogy Colouring Book.

We understand the book will combine official character artwork from the films, including Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo, Sam and Gollum, with brand-new colouring pages.

The colouring-in art, created by artist Nicolette Caven, will capture vistas from all three The Lord of the Rings movies – from the the Balrog encounter in the Mines of Moria to the battle of Pelennor Fields. Continue reading “New merch: Lord of the Rings movie colouring book!”

This Saturday (Feb 27 at 6pm ET (New York time)) Hall of Fire will be discussing one of the great (and tragic) heroes of Middle-earth — Boromir the Brave.

‘The Men of Gondor are valiant, and they will never submit; but they may be beaten down. Valour needs first strength, and then a weapon. Let the Ring be your weapon, if it has such power as you say. Take it and go forth to victory!’ The Council of Elrond.

Boromir: the tragic hero of Gondor Continue reading “Hall of Fire this Saturday: Boromir, tragic hero of Gondor”

FTKdSdIzLTf_7XC_3chcvY_mNaoCqfc5f4Pc3ezmqkuigtQMSOKKQBmuM7ylJwOb7SIm=w1440-h900-no Artist John Cockshaw — whose fabulous art we’ve profiled here before — writes to tell us of his latest Tolkien-inspired Art exhibition that launches this Saturday (February 27) in North Yorkshire in the UK.

The exhibition, titled “Dales of a Perilous Realm”, will run at Mill Bridge Gallery in the scenic Yorkshire Dales town of Skipton until until April 9.

John writes:
Continue reading “Tolkien-inspired art exhibit: Dales of a Perilous Realm”