Christopher Tolkien to finish lost Middle Earth novel

[davem]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

As a solution perhaps he could be convinced to sing more bookplates over time, say a few hundred a month and make them available as needed selling just one or two to collectors. This would keep availability at a high level while keeping the scalpers at bay and keeping the price affordable. In addition to his fine work as editor and keeper of the flame, this would be a great service to his public.

Possibly - though that would decrease the rarity value of signed copies. My own solution would have been for the books/bookplates to have been made available via the Publishers websites - either for direct sale or as prizes. As I said, the most annoying aspect of this is that if you happen to be in New York you can line up & pick a couple of signed editions off the shelf & if you live elsewhere you have virtually no chance - when did Big Apple residents become the 'chosen few' with special priority over the rest of us 'lesser' mortals?

However such a thing has happened before. At the 1992 Tolkien Centenary Conference in Oxford attendees were each given a cassette recording by Christopher Tolkien of 'The Homecoming of Beortnoth' which have never been made available elsewhere - but they at least went to serious fans (well to serious fans who could afford to attend a week long Tolkien Conference........). At the 2005 Conference we got a plastic pen with 'Tolkien 2005' on it.

[Sauron the White]

davem - what is the goal here? You mention rarity of signed copies. Of course the law and supply and demand will raise its head - ugly or otherwise and the smaller the number of signed copies the greater their cost. But is that of any concern to a true Tolkien collector who wants a signed copy on their shelf? For me I really could not care less about how much something is worth unless I am purchasing it and have to shell out the cash. I imagine my heirs will care a great deal when they have to dispose of all this stuff - but until then it all stays here and I enjoy it. It matters not to me if there are 250 signed copies of COH or 2,500. It matters not to me if they are worth the issue price of under thirty dollars or if someone on ebay manages to get a thousand dollars for one. I merely want one signed copy to go with the rest of my collection. I imagine many others are in the same boat.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

It matters not to me if they are worth the issue price of under thirty dollars or if someone on ebay manages to get a thousand dollars for one. I merely want one signed copy to go with the rest of my collection. I imagine many others are in the same boat.

Of course - yet there will never be 2,500 signed copies. There will inevitably be a limit & because of that the ones there are should be made more widely available. Certainly it would be nice if every copy was signed. Yet rarity is special. To own something rare appeals to our natural egotism if nothing else - but I think there is more to it than that. I have books that were owned by Michael Tolkien, given him by his father. No-one else has them because they're unique & therefore 'special'. Its the chance discovery, the 'odd' coincidences that lead to such things, that make them special. The chase, the possibility of not obtaining them for oneself, & the holding of them when you eventually do get them, is part of what makes it special.

When I heard about the books I have I wanted them, & the whole process of contacting the seller, waiting with anticipation for a reply, sending off the cheque, even worrying whether they would get lost in the post( ) was all part of the excitement. Even the disappointment that I'd have felt if I hadn't got them added to the whole thing.

Having so many copies available to so few people which are innaccessible to the rest of us is unfair. I want all fans to have a fair & equal chance of getting the signed copies that there are. That way I'd mind less if I didn't get one myself - because I'd know I'd had as much chance as anyone else, & that the ones who did get them didn't get them just because of where they happened to live, or enough money to buy them on ebay.

[Sauron the White]

davem - WOW!!! You have books that came from the Tolkien family. That is extremely impressive and I appreciate your telling of the tale of how you obtained them. It helps me understand your position.

There is one thing in your post which seems to be crucial. You say

I want all fans to have a fair & equal chance of getting the signed copies that there are.

The fly in the ointment is always how you define these things. What to you is fair and equal chance? Can there ever really be such things?

[davem]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

The fly in the ointment is always how you define these things. What to you is fair and equal chance? Can there ever really be such things?

No, but it could be fairer than it seems it will be.

As to the books - I've told the story elsewhere on the Downs. And the dealer who bought Michael Tolkien's library still has books of his for sale (or had last time I was in touch), so they aren't hard to get hold of - hence, owning such books is not a rare thing, but its special to own such things when there's only one (or a few) of each. I'm sure the dealer would like to sell them on to anyone who's interested - its his business after all, so anyone who's interested can own something with a family connection fairly easily & relatively cheaply (the six volume set of Gibbon was £100).

In fact, here you go
http://www.abebooks.com/home/NEILEWART/

And a couple of Tolkien books owned by Michael Tolkien here
http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...n&x=0&sortby=2

[Mithalwen]

Adam Tolkien is going to be at the Waterstones all day launch thang

[davem]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Adam Tolkien is going to be at the Waterstones all day launch thang

So are you going still going as Nienor?