Christmas Gift Ideas for Hobbit and Tolkien lovers - PART II (2.12.08 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

Christmas shopping is something we all need to do, but how can you find an original gift? This year I'm going to make some nice suggestions, by creating two lists which will help you find a perfect gift for any Tolkien and Hobbit lover or collector.
Part I covers all items related to The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien, the worldwide bestseller. This list will cover other nice Tolkien collectables, books and perfect Christmas gifts.

It is always difficult to choose a nice gift for someone else. In the case of Tolkien lovers and especially the collectors, things can get even more difficult. How can you manage to find something that is not yet in his / her collection and how can you be sure the thing you buy is really special... and will be well appreciated. I'll get you on the road and make a little list of items which are new, unique or just nice gifts.

PART II - Gift idea: Tolkien books, the perfect Christmas gifts

On 15th October 2007 HarperCollins published a revised Anniversary Edition of the long unavailable children’s story Mr. Bliss, written and illustrated by Tolkien himself.

It is the perfect Christmass gift and looks absolutely stunning. In this article I'll tell all about the new revised edition and will tell the history of Mr. Bliss' conception, the first edition and add some nice pictures.
When John (tolkien's son) was 3 he got his first letter from Father Christmas. From 1920 until 1943 Tolkien wrote letters, as Father Christmas, to his children. They were accompagnied by lot's of funny pictures. The Father Christmas Letters contains most of these letters and most illustrations (most in colour). I don't need to explain why this book makes a perfect Christmas present!
Looking for something special, more exclusive? To celebrate 30 years of the Silmarillion there was made a new de luxe edition of The Silmarillion, featuring the revised, reset text, a colour frontispiece illustration, bound in special materials and presented in a matching slipcase. Here is an article on this book.
Tales from the Perilous Realm was first released by Harper Collins in January 1997 and featured a cover by Roger Garland and included Farmer Giles of Ham, Leaf By Niggle, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and Smith of Wootton Major. Since then there was a paperback edition in 1998 and the very popular black A-format paperback edition in 2002.

A similar collection, The Tolkien Reader, contains a slightly different (but overlapping) assortment of material. Now in 2008 this book includes one extra story namely Roverandom. This year the tale celebrates it's tenth year since publication!

This new collection is fully illustrated throughout by Oscar-winning artist, Alan Lee, who provides a wealth of pencil drawings to bring the stories to life as he did so memorably for The Hobbit and The Children of Húrin. Alan also provides an Afterword, in which he opens the door into illustrating tolkien's world.

The 2008 edition of Tales from the Perilous Realm: Roverandom and Other Classic Faery Stories will be released as a hardback edition and a deluxe edition, one of the nicest Deluxe edtions of Tolkien books I have seen in a long time.

Taken together, this rich collection of new and unknown work from the author of The Children of Húrin will provide the reader with a fascinating journey into lands as wild and strange as Middle-earth.
For those who are not into reading Tolkien books: The newly released edition of the Tales from the Perilous Realm Radio Dramatization comes as four stories on three disks, each containing elements of fantasy and faerie, or in total 3hrs of listening pleasure. It has exactly the same size as the Hobbit dramatization, so they fit well together on a shelve.

The other two dramatizations did give an extra, like the Hobbit had an extra CD with music and a Tolkien interview, The Lord of the Rings also had an extra music CD and a map. This collection has no extra's, still... it holds one of my favorite stories of all times, but more on that here.

Still not satisfied and looking for the true special gift. Please visit the Tolkien Library Store. The It always has a large amount of rare and collectible Tolkien books up for sale.

The books in the Tolkien Library Store always have a high collectible value and are of the finest on the market. Tolkien books available include both the UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed / Numbered / Limited Editions.

Rare Tolkien items are also available, including books and letters signed by Tolkien, proof copies and books from Tolkiens personal library.

Not all items are on display here, so please do not hesitate to make requests about Tolkien books you are trying to find. Whatever you are looking to buy or sell, we will always try to help. Please choose the category of books you are interested in:

* Original cloth bindings
* Custom Cloth bindings
* Signed / Numbered / Limited editions
* Rare Tolkien items
* Other Tolkien collectables

Enjoyed this post? Click to get the RSS feed.


Spread the news about this J.R.R. Tolkien article: