J. R. R. Tolkien Artist & Illustrator.

HAMMOND, Wayne G. and Christina Scull [J.R.R. Tolkien].

$125.00

Item Number: 145861

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995.

First edition of this exploration of J. R. R. Tolkien’s artistic work. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated with approximately 200 examples of Tolkien’s drawings. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.

Tolkien learnt to paint and draw as a child and continued to do so into his adult life and career as a writer, developing drawings and paintings, especially of landscapes, alongside his fantastical stories. He produced pictures to accompany the stories told to his own children, including those later published in 'Mr Bliss' and 'Roverandom,' and sent them elaborately illustrated letters purporting to come from 'Father Christmas.' Although he regarded himself as an amateur, the publisher used Tolkien's own cover art, maps, and full-page illustrations for the early editions of 'The Hobbit.' Much of his artwork was collected and published in this, 'J. R. R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator.'