How would you know?

[Galin]

Ah, found it. It was from Charles Noad's 'Of the Construction Of The Silmarillion' from Tolkien's Legendarium. Full context is best, as the following is only a very small part of his essay, but it ends...

'(...) Since the Hobbits would seem to occupy the same place that the 'faded' Elves did in the earliest formulations of the mythology, we could understand why Elfwine made his voyage in the first place. He would have known of the Hobbits as they survived in tenth-century Britain, and, learning from them about the Red Book and its contents (the single volume of Bilbo's and Frodo's memoirs), have been inspired by its hints about the histories of the Elves to seek the Straight Road to the West, there to learn the lore of the Elves and recover if for the race of Men.'

Charles Noad

Anyway, yes Elfwine was certainly around after The Lord of the Rings, and Elfwine And Dirhaval has been dated at c. 1958. Still, the Numenorean/Imladris/ Bilbo tradition is later of course. Anyway, I wonder if something like Mr. Noad's scenario above might have yet been possible -- with the further speculation that Elfwine perhaps ultimately provided an Old English version of the Red Book?

But I'm still waiting to fully read Appendix F again before I comment concerning that