Father Christmas Letters: 1927

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Alas, I wasn't able to find a usable image of the picture that goes with the 1927 letter! (Perhaps one of you will have better luck.) That is especially deplorable because it is an unusual picture - a night scene on a dark green background, painted with white, with only a few red touches to enliven it. What made Tolkien choose to draw it in this fashion is unknown. Ostensibly he painted the picture with snow from the damaged Snow Man.

We see the North Pole (still patched in red) in the middle, the North Polar Bear front left, and the cliff with Father Christmas' house on the right. The constellation Great Bear (Big Dipper) is depicted, and a comet brings light from the right edge. The story explanation for the darkness is of course the absence of the aurora borealis, since NPB exploded two years' worth of it the year before. I find the "hiring" of a comet to give a bit of light amusing!

The Man in the Moon shows up again, with a story similar to the poems in the Tom Bombadil Adventures - drinking too much and falling asleep. This apparently refers to a lunar eclipse which took place in December of that year, according to Hammond and Scull (Companion and Guide).

The letter is quite long and includes several notes by the NPB as well as some of JRRT's typical doodlings. There is a drawing of the hearth rug that looks very like his heraldic devices and Númenorean rug or tile drawings. I am always impressed with Tolkien's beautiful calligraphy!

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I second the fact that the black picture is rather interesting (and I really like the "use the rest of the snowman for painting" idea). The whole picture has generally rather nice composition of colors, I'd say. Sort of "NASA"-colors, or something, too You know, the landscape could easily be on the Moon, with the Pole being some sort of landed rocket - or that's the impression it gives to me.

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

I find the "hiring" of a comet to give a bit of light amusing!

I like that idea, too. Curious question: does anybody know if this has any "RL relevance", i.e., if there was any comet visible in the sky from the northern hemisphere around December in 1927? Knowing Tolkien being rather interested in astronomy, I wouldn't be surprised.

The Man in the Moon shows up again, with a story similar to the poems in the Tom Bombadil Adventures - drinking too much and falling asleep. This apparently refers to a lunar eclipse which took place in December of that year, according to Hammond and Scull (Companion and Guide).

This is definitely an interesting thing, too. And something I wanted to mention already in relation to the 1926 stuff, but saved it for now, since it has more relevance: we are getting into the time when the idea of Roverandom began to shape. In Roverandom, there is the chapter about Roverandom meeting the Dragon from the Moon, and we are told something about the very same eclipse we are hearing about here (or that's at least what the story's background seems to point at). The Moon Dragon was known to cause eclipses from time to time, only the one which was "scheduled" after meeting Roverandom didn't work out because the Dragon was resting and tending his wounds. There is a note that the particular eclipse did not "work out well" in the RL since the astronomers/photographers (as mentioned in one of the early drafts of Roverandom; later omitted from the final text) in England could not observe it: it was cloudy on that day (it was the 8th December 1927). I just think it is rather interesting single event which had its appearance in two major (erm... minor ) works.

[Guinevere]

The mention of dragons on the moon immediatly made me think of Roverandom too!

It's interesting to see through which countries Father Christmas supposedly passes - are those all the countries where children hang up stockings for him to fill?? (In Switzerland there is no such tradition!) What about other European countries or the USA?

In my edition there is a facsimile of the letter's 2nd page with a little drawing of the hearthrug, by the PB. (reminds me of Tolkien's fondness of such patterns and emblems) and several more incidental remarks by PB . I love the one commenting the decoration in the top lefthand corner: "These are blots which Fr.Ch could not rub out!!"