Once again, it’s time for the staff of TheOneRing.net to share our picks for the perfect Tolkien-themed gifts*, whether it’s for that someone special or you just want to treat yourself!
In addition to all of the gift ideas below, the folks at Loot Crate want to give all of you something special, too: 10% off their Lord of the Rings Limited Edition Trilogy Loot Crates – this deal is exclusively for readers of TheOneRing.net!
Official, licensed Lord of the Rings limited edition crates, based on the film trilogy and curated by Loot Crate, the premiere subscription box service for pop culture fans. Each crate will feature exclusive items. What you get is a surprise until you open it – it’s like getting an excellent 111th birthday present from a dear friend who arrives precisely when he means to!
Order a trilogy of crates delivered right to your Hobbit-hole. Use code ONERING10 to receive 10% off all 3 crates. 10% offer good until Dec. 25th, 2018, midnight ET.
deej recommends: Funko Pop! Treebeard – “I may or may not have a slight addiction to Funko figures, with an emphasis on Lord of the Rings/Hobbit and The Nightmare Before Christmas Pops. This one might be my favorite. Just remember – once you start collecting these, it’s hard to stop!” Click HERE to order
Eowyn Sheildmaiden necklace by Badali Jewelry -“A beautiful piece from the talented artists at Badali; the front of the shield shows 2 intertwined Rohan horses. On the back are her words to the Witch King” ‘”No living man am I, You look upon a woman’. GORGEOUS!” Click HERE to order.
greendragon recommends: Oscha official Middle-Earth inspired clothing collection (click HERE), as well as Oscha baby slings and wovens inspired by the world of Tolkien (click HERE ) -“Because this stuff is so stunning and gorgeous! Also it’s organic and ethically made. Support a small business and buy something beautiful!”
In addition to Oscha, can I suggest Albion Tea Company? It’s a small, family business, perfect for the book lover in your life! Right now they have Narnia inspired blends on offer; often they have Middle-earth teas too. Lovely, literature inspired gifts and teas, perfect for a cosy winter afternoon curled up with the Professor. Plus you get to support a small business – win win!” Click HERE to order.
Justin recommends: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Soundtrack Box Set (Vinyl format); click HERE to order.
‘Book Wyrm’ enamel pin from Gimme Flair; click HERE to order.
Kristin recommends: Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth; edited by Catherine McIlwaine, Bodleian Library, 2018 – click HERE to order.
Garfeimao recommends: Orcrist, from Weta Workshop’s Master Swordsmith’s Collection (limited to only 25!) – click HERE to order.
saystine recommends: Isengard print from Etsy – “My recommendation is something for your walls. I love this Isengard print…they have other locales for sale as well.” Click HERE to order.
Magpie recommends: “I often recommend ‘The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien’ as the *next* book to read once one falls in love with ‘The Lord of the Rings’. The format of letters are easy to browse at will and they offer keen insight into Tolkien’s creative world building of Middle-earth. The book has an extensive index but getting an additional Kindle copy lets one do a word search of the book. This could be combined nicely with audio CD of J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien reading selections from ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’.” Click HERE to order.
Also, this J.R.R. Tolkien Miniature Diorama Desk Scene – “This diorama is one of a kind but the artist has done single figures of Tolkien in the past and will take special orders.” Click HERE to order.
Elessar recommends: The Balrog, Flame of Udun Bust, by Weta Workshop: “Got a chance to see this at Comic-Con and its the coolest bust I’ve seen Weta do. The light effect along with the new clear resin are awesome.” Click HERE to order.
Arwen and Frodo on Asfaloth, by Weta Workshop: “About as elegant a rider piece as you’ll ever find and the new clear resin really makes the water and chiffon pop.” Click HERE to order.
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*Prices are in U.S. dollars; prices and availability are subject to change.
Our friends at Weta Workshop have once again delivered a character that fans have been putting on lists of missed characters for years now. This particular character, if you happened to order the recent Treebeard statue, will make for a great pairing. Who is this character? It’s none other than a very cool looking Orc Grishnakh.
Limited to only 500 pieces worldwide and a price of $399 this one most likely won’t be around long. Sculpted by Jamie Beswarick this statue looks amazing with every piece we saw on screen included in the sculpt. Fans can also use the payment plan system to help them get this and with a release date of April 2019 you’ll have time to pay it off.
Our friends from Weta Workshop have delivered another hit, and another item that has been years in the making. Before Comic-Con this year, fans finally got a chance to order a character from Rohan, riding a horse; not just a random solider, but Eomer. Eomer had only been done as a bust in the original SSW line when the films were out, and fans have since been craving a proper statue. This statue lives up to the internal hype we’ve all been feeling since The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Lucky fans can still order Eomer on Firefoot and then come chat with us about it in the TORn Collectors Club. Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Eomer on Firefoot Review”
This one’s come as a bolt from the blue! Throughout this year Rhino Records has been releasing limited editions of the Complete Recordings of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the Kingon coloured vinyl.
And to wrap things up, they’ve just announced that the original motion picture soundtracks (the 2001, 2002, and 2003 OSTs that accompanied the theatrical releases of the films) will be available as part of a Limited-Edition 6-LP Trilogy BoxedSet from November 30, 2018.
No details yet on the edition limit, but for the record, the FOTR vinyl set was limited to 5,000 while those for TTT and ROTK were limited to 8,000 each.
Rhino Records’ official press release and track listing follow.
Just a reminder that the incredible Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth exhibition is still on at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. You have until October 28th to see this astonishing collection of manuscripts and artefacts from Tolkien’s work and life. American fans will then have the opportunity to see most of the exhibition, together with some new additions, at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, from January 2019; and from October 2019 to February 2020, an even bigger collection (which will include some of this current display) will be on show at the Bibliotheque nationale de France. (This will be the first time that the French national library has ever curated an exhibition about a non-French author, and will include items from their own collection, setting Tolkien’s works in the wider context of fantasy literature.)
Earlier this summer, TORn staffer greendragon had the opportunity to sit down with the Bodleian’s Tolkien archivist, Catherine McIlwaine, to find out some more about the behind-the-scenes work which went into creating this exhibition. McIlwaine was already a big fan of Middle-earth herself, so it has been the perfect job for her; as she put it herself, she was in the right place at the right time! Originally hired to create a detailed catalogue of the library’s Tolkien collection – a job which she thought would last for a couple of years – McIlwaine never expected to find herself, fifteen years later, curating such an extensive exposition of the Professor’s life and work.
The Bodleian owns a very large collection of material relating to J.R.R. Tolkien, totaling approximately 500 boxes of manuscript items! Much was donated by the Tolkien family in 1979; though manuscripts for The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and Farmer Giles of Ham had been sold to Marquette University by Tolkien himself in the late 1950s, the rest of his manuscripts, academic and personal papers reside with the Bodleian. The current display features over 200 items, roughly half of which have never been seen by the public before; fascinating doodles on the back of completed crossword puzzles, and scribblings such as the opening lines of Beowulf written in tengwar, are amongst the treasures.
Staffer greendragon with exhibition curator Catherine McIlwaine (left)
Marquette University have been very supportive of the exposition, and have allowed many items from their collection to be included; McIlwaine said that the highlight of planning the exhibition, for her, was the opportunity to travel to Milwaukee twice, and to get to know the staff at Marquette. The ‘Maker of Middle-earth’ show sees some of Tolkien’s manuscripts and original art works being reunited for the first time since the 1950s!
Also featured in the current display are Tolkien’s own writing desk, chair, and some of his pipes, exclusively loaned by the Tolkien family, who have been very supportive of the endeavour. Christopher, Tolkien’s son and the editor of many of his works, was unfortunately not able to travel to visit the show, but his wife attended, and was delighted by it.
This enormous exposition (which still only reveals about three-quarters of the Bodleian’s current Tolkien archive – which is still growing!) was five years in the planning, with 18 months of full-time work in the run up to opening. The release of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies was the chief impetus, prompting the Bodleian to think that the time was ripe for such a showing; and the Tolkien Trust were eager to support it, to give something back to the fans. (Tickets to the exhibition are free!) Much of the content on display is usually only available to researchers – and access is closely restricted. Here, fans have the opportunity (in many cases, for the first time) to peer closely at Tolkien’s tengwar scrawl on an academic paper; and to gain an insight, through personal letters, into his family relationships.
For me (greendragon), highlights of the exhibition included Tolkien’s letters from his mother. I had no idea that she had taught him his beautiful calligraphy – I always assumed it was something he dreamed up himself. When you see the letters from his mother, however, it is very clear whence that unique script originated. Another family touch I loved were the sketches Tolkien created for his son Michael, to help him deal with nightmares. There was a recurring ‘monster’ which tormented Michael, and following his description, his father drew the beast – now named ‘Owlamoo’ – to help Michael confront and defeat his fears. I love the rather cross-looking owl-creature; and this display of fatherly affection is very touching.
Throughout the run of the exhibition, there have been various lectures and events in Oxford. A self-guided walking tour of ‘Tolkien’s Oxford‘ has been very popular, and many of the evening lectures have been sold out. Some exhibition tickets, however, have deliberately been held back for each day, so that there are always some available.
For anyone who can’t make it over to Oxford, I heartily recommend the exhibition catalogue. It is the biggest catalogue the Bodleian has ever produced, and it even includes archival items not seen in the display! As the exhibition website states, the book ‘brings together the largest collection of original Tolkien material ever assembled in a single volume. Drawing on the archives of the Tolkien collections at the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, and Marquette University, Milwaukee, as well as private collections, this exquisitely produced catalogue draws together the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien – scholarly, literary, creative and domestic – offering a rich and detailed understanding and appreciation of this extraordinary author.’ Worth every penny; visit the exhibition shop to see some of the other goodies on offer.
New York Comic Con is almost here – the fun starts tomorrow, and runs 4-7 October at the Javits Center. You can find TheOneRing.net at booth number 1678; please come and say hi! We’ll have buttons and shirts for sale – this year’s designs for t-shirts are ‘Top Ten Authors’ (the Professor is of course #1!), and ‘Not all those who wander are Lost’. We also have our usual ‘lucky dip’ with some amazing prizes to be won. Be sure to come and find us!
And don’t forget – we’re teaming up with Sideshow to host a party in Manhattan! Tickets are still available for Ringers take Manhattan on FRIDAY 5th October8-11pm at Tir na Nog pub in Times Square – that’s 315 West 39th Street.
You don’t have to be attending New York Comic Con to come along – all are welcome! Tickets are only $15 this year – and include your first drink, finger food throughout the evening, and two tickets for the evening’s fabulous raffle. You can buy tickets by clicking here.
Looking forward to seeing lots of Middle-earth fans this weekend!
deej recommends: Funko Pop! Treebeard – “I may or may not have a slight addiction to Funko figures, with an emphasis on Lord of the Rings/Hobbit and The Nightmare Before Christmas Pops. This one might be my favorite. Just remember – once you start collecting these, it’s hard to stop!” Click HERE to order
greendragon recommends: Oscha official Middle-Earth inspired clothing collection (click HERE), as well as Oscha baby slings and wovens inspired by the world of Tolkien (click HERE ) -“Because this stuff is so stunning and gorgeous! Also it’s organic and ethically made. Support a small business and buy something beautiful!” 
Kristin recommends: Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth; edited by Catherine McIlwaine, Bodleian Library, 2018 – click HERE to order.
Garfeimao recommends: Orcrist, from Weta Workshop’s Master Swordsmith’s Collection (limited to only 25!) – click HERE to order.
saystine recommends: Isengard print from Etsy – “My recommendation is something for your walls. I love this Isengard print…they have other locales for sale as well.” Click HERE to order.
Magpie recommends: “I often recommend ‘The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien’ as the *next* book to read once one falls in love with ‘The Lord of the Rings’. The format of letters are easy to browse at will and they offer keen insight into Tolkien’s creative world building of Middle-earth. The book has an extensive index but getting an additional Kindle copy lets one do a word search of the book. This could be combined nicely with audio CD of J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien reading selections from ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’.” Click HERE to order.
Elessar recommends: The Balrog, Flame of Udun Bust, by Weta Workshop: “Got a chance to see this at Comic-Con and its the coolest bust I’ve seen Weta do. The light effect along with the new clear resin are awesome.” Click HERE to order.
This one’s come as a bolt from the blue! Throughout this year Rhino Records has been releasing limited editions of the Complete Recordings of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King on coloured vinyl.
