The Silmarillion with Signed Letter

6RR J.R.R. Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1977 First Edition with Fore Edge Painting by Maisie Matilda and loose letter SIGNED by Tolkien.

Notes

The first printing of The Silmarillion was published on September 15, 1977, by George Allen & Unwin in the United Kingdom and simultaneously by Houghton Mifflin in the United States. The first edition was issued as a hardback volume with a distinctive dust jacket featuring heraldic designs based on Tolkien’s own artwork. Initial print runs were substantial due to the enormous success of The Lord of the Rings, and the book quickly became an international bestseller. Unlike a conventional novel, The Silmarillion is presented as a mythopoeic history of Middle-earth, compiled and edited after Tolkien’s death, which made its publication a significant literary event for readers who had long awaited more of his expansion on the origins of Middle-earth. Some might even refer to this book as the Genesis of Middle-earth.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973) was a philologist and professor at the University of Oxford as well as a renowned author best known for the richly detailed world of Middle-earth. He began developing the core myths that would become The Silmarillion as early as 1916–1917 during and just after his service in World War I. Over the next five decades, Tolkien continually revised, expanded, and reimagined these stories, never bringing them to a fully finalized state for publication during his lifetime. After his death in 1973, his son Christopher Tolkien undertook the enormous task of editing and assembling the disparate manuscripts. The editorial process took roughly four years (1973–1977), during which Christopher selected, combined, and in some cases lightly modified texts to produce a coherent volume. So, while Tolkien worked on the material for more than 50 years, the final edited form appeared four years after his death.

J. R. R. Tolkien was notably conscientious about replying to fan letters, especially after the success of The Hobbit and later The Lord of the Rings. Although the growing volume of correspondence in the 1950s and 1960s eventually made it impossible for him to answer everyone, he made a genuine effort to respond personally to many readers. The letter accompanying this first edition of the Silmarillion even mentions the Silmarillion thirteen years prior to the books publication and nine years prior to Tolkien’s passing. Closing the letter is a very nice signature in Tolkien’s iconic sprawling lettering. 

Maisie Matilda is a contemporary British artist who specializes in a modern take on the old art of fore-edge paintings. Her work blends fine detail with a deep appreciation for mythic storytelling, often drawing inspiration from classic works of fantasy literature. In her fore-edge design for The Silmarillion, she depicts the radiant Elvish realm in luminous, layered tones, centering the composition on the Two Trees of Valinor—Telperion and Laurelin—whose silver and golden light defined the earliest age of Tolkien’s world. The glowing trees rise against an ethereal landscape, capturing the beauty and sacred stillness of the Blessed Realm.

Description

Original blue cloth binding with gilt lettering to spine. Original dust wrapper, very clean. All three edges painted by Maisie Matilda with Tolkien’s monogram on the upper edge, Valinor, Telperion, and Laurelin on fore edge, three copies of Tolkiens heraldic circles on lower edge. Very clean copy with no bumps or tears to binding or wrapper. Very fine condition.

Signed letter is folded in thirds. Composed on a typewriter and signed by J. R. R. Tolkien. Letter id dated 30th May 1964 and reads: “Dear Mr. Peel, Forgive me if this is not your name at all, but I found your signature extremely difficult to read. Thank you, at any rate, for your enthusiastic letter. I am glad you like my books, and I am already at work on another, stories of the First Age, under the title The Silmarillion. I hope you will enjoy this too when it is eventually published, in a year or so. Yours sincerely, J. R. R. Tolkien.”