Ian Collier, Tolkien Society Publicity Officer writes: At 9pm (local times) on January 3rd fans around the world are invited to raise a glass and toast J.R.R. Tolkien’s Birthday. The Tolkien Society has some webpages where fans across the globe can let other fans know where they’ll be celebrating if they’re hosting a party, or just what particular tipple they’ll be raising. Fans will be able to check the webpage and see who is celebrating where and if they wish to get in touch and join in. Continue reading “Tolkien Birthday Toast News”

Long time reader Jorge of Korea sent in a great essay from Cimmerian.com which focuses on the writer’s hopes and expectations of GDT’s Hobbit movies.

Writer Steve Tompkins, “Too many of my waking hours are given over to thinking about the Hobbit films due in December of 2011 and December of 2012; no sooner is my attention directed elsewhere than the voluble and value-adding Guillermo del Toro  is interviewed again and — sproing! – my thoughts ricochet back to the movies he’s about to make.”

Discuss the essay on our message boards and see the full article right right here.

Discuss it at our forums here.

From Pieter Collier at GTC Roadshow AG: GTC AG, a Swiss based company, announces the acquisition of the second most expensive Tolkien book ever sold; a signed Hobbit bought from Peter Harrington¹s for £53,000 setting a new benchmark for a signed book.

The book was inscribed by Tolkien while staying with Jack Bennett, a friend and former colleague from Oxford. J.A.W. “Jack” Bennett (1911-81) succeeded C.S. Lewis as Professor of Medieval & Renaissance English at Cambridge. Continue reading “Signed Hobbit Goes for £53,000”

Frandalf writes: I would like to let everyone that in December the library in Oss (the Netherlands, near Den Bosch) will host a Tolkien-exhibit together with Unquendor. There will be an exposition of rare books, film merchandise, banners made by Unquendor and more. On several occasions there will be activities, such as a lecture, workshops and a reading day. All this will be in Dutch. Continue reading “Tolkien Exhibit in the Netherlands”

Reepicheep_Took sent us this great find: “Found a report about some Superhero and movie-related auction items. Most notably, there are first edition, Tolkien autographed copies of all LOTR books, and a signed map of middle-Earth drawn by Tolkien.”

Profiles in History, a leading dealer in guaranteed-authentic original historical autographs, letters, documents, vintage signed photographs and manuscripts, will hold the 33rd annual Hollywood Memorabilia auction on December 11. If you have a few thousand (or hundred thousand) dollars burning a hole in your pocket, you could own the set pictured to the right which is estimated to go for $80,000 to $100,000 U.S. For all the Tolkien-related items currently available, follow the Profiles in History link and search on “Tolkien.” For a quick list of all the items in the auction (including King Kong, Star Wars and Harry Potter memorabilia), go to Superhero Hype.com

A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald discusses how the love of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works has spawned generations of fans who are now avid collectors of all things Tolkien. The continuing fascination has only increased after Peter Jackson’s release of “Lord Of The Rings” in 2001 and the intense interest in Guillermo Del Toro’s upcoming take on “The Hobbit”. Fans have been clamoring for other printed books, maps, manuscripts and photographs related to the author and his works.

If you have a Tolkien collection, be sure and share it with other collectors on our Gaming and Collecting message board. Read More