The Essential J. R. R. Tolkien Sourcebook: A Fan's Guide to Middle-Earth and Beyond

260 Pages·2003·28.64 MB·english

by  George Beahm

The
Essential
J.R.R. Tolkien
Sourcebook
A F ’ G
AN S UIDE
M -
TO IDDLE EARTH
B
AND EYOND
George Beahm
Illustrated by Colleen Doran
New Page Books
A division of The Career Press, Inc.
Franklin Lakes, NJ
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Copyright © 2004 by George Beahm
All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright
Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form
or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented,
without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.
THE ESSENTIAL J.R.R. TOLKIEN SOURCEBOOK
EDITED BY CLAYTON W. LEADBETTER
TYPESET BY EILEEN DOW MUNSON
Cover illustration and design: Jean William Naumann
Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press
Art by Colleen Doran © 2003 by Colleen Doran
Art by Donato Giancola © 2003 by Donato Giancola
Art by Steve Hickman © 2003 by Steve Hickman
Art by Tim Kirk © 2003 by Tim Kirk
Art by Michael Kaluta © 2003 by Michael Kaluta
Art by David Wenzel © 2003 by David Wenzel
Photographs of Sideshow-Weta collectibles © 2003 by Sideshow-Weta
Photographs of swords by United Cutlery © 2003 by United Cutlery
To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-
848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for further information on
books from Career Press.
The Career Press, Inc., 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687,
Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417
www.careerpress.com
www.newpagebooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Beahm, George W.
The essential J.R.R. Tolkien sourcebook : a fan’s guide to Middle-earth and beyond / by
George Beahm.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-56414-702-9 (pbk.)
1. Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973—Film and video
adaptations—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel),
1892-1973—Collectibles—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 4. Middle Earth (Imaginary
place)—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 5. Fantasy fiction, English—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 6.
Fantasy films—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.
PR6039.O32Z566 2004
828'.91209--dc22
2003044293
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Say “friend” and enter:
This book is for
Colleen Doran.
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A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
To Douglas A. Anderson, for bibliographic assistance and answering all my
e-mails about Tolkien; to Stephen Spignesi, who stopped working on his own
books to help me with mine; to Ned Brooks, who scanned images, answered
Tolkien-related questions, and provided contacts; to the artists who pushed away
their drawing boards to help out with interviews and art—Tim Kirk, Donato
Giancola, Steve Hickman, Michael Kaluta, and Dave Wenzel. Thanks, too, are
due to Michael Whelan, who gave time for an interview, despite his crushing
workload in finishing up his current assignment.
I owe a special thanks to the fellowship of publishing professionals at New
Page Books, who, despite an impossibly unforgiving deadline, rose to the challenge
and, as a team pulling in the same direction, took my raw manuscript and produced
a beautiful book. Handsomely typeset and elegantly designed, this book shows
their care and craft for book publishing: Ron Fry, publisher, who believed in this
book; Clayton Leadbetter, editor, who worked tirelessly to make this book as
good as it could possibly be; Eileen Munson, whose design work as formatter
showcases the words and art to their best effect; Gina Marie Cheselka, who ably
assisted in the preliminary editorial work; Stacey A. Farkas, editorial director,
who shepherded this book through production from start to finish; and finally,
Mike Pye, whose work and ideas also helped improved it. This book bears the
watermarks of their professionalism on every page.
And, finally, to Colleen Doran, who was an integral part of this book from its
beginning: Despite a professional workload that kept her at the drawing board
for seven days a week, she squeezed in time to produce nearly two dozen original
pieces of art done especially for this book. In addition, she provided an interview;
turned over her entire Tolkien collection for me to have on hand as I worked on
this book, which proved to be invaluable; assisted me in the photography of her
many Tolkien collectibles; promoted this book online and through her contacts
at TheOneRing.net; and was my sounding board on this project, as we discussed
Tolkien and all things in Middle-earth. Thank you, Colleen.
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“In that realm a man may, perhaps count himself fortunate to
have wandered, but its very richness and strangeness tie the tongue
of a traveller who would report them. And while he is there it is a
dangerous for him to ask too many questions, lest the gates should
be shut and the keys be lost.”
—J.R.R. Tolkien, On Fairy Stories
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C
ONTENTS
Foreword The Day of His Death Was a Dark, Cold Day.............................13
By Stephen Spignesi
Introduction ...........................................................................................................17
Chapter 1 Books by Tolkien ............................................................................21
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again 21
The Lord of the Rings 24
The Silmarillion 31
The History of Middle-earth 34
Other books by J.R.R. Tolkien 35
Chapter 2 Books About Tolkien .....................................................................41
Chapter 3 Visual Adaptations of The Lord of the Rings:..............................59
The Film and Related Book Tie-In Products
DVDs 59
Books 66
The Official Lord of the Rings Fan Club 70
Chapter 4 Sound Advice: Audio Adaptations ...............................................71
Audio Adaptations 73
Musical Adaptations 75
Chapter 5 Printed Products .............................................................................81
Stationery Goods 81
Posters 84
Lithographs and Photographs 87
Art Prints, Giclée Prints, and Original Art 87
Calendars 90
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Chapter 6 The One Ring Replicas ..................................................................93
Chapter 7 Licensed Movie-Related Collectibles ..........................................99
Decorative Items 99
Clothing and Apparel 100
Jewelry 101
Standups 102
Action Figures and Dolls 103
Board Games and Puzzles 106
Computer Software 106
Sideshow/Weta 107
Swords by United Cutlery 120
Stamps 125
Coins 126
Miscellaneous Collectibles 127
Chapter 8 Gaming and Miniatures................................................................ 131
Chapter 9 The Noble Collection ................................................................... 145
Chapter 10 Smaug’s Stash: Tolkien Treasures.............................................. 151
Chapter 11 Visions of Middle-earth: Tolkien Art ........................................ 167
Tolkien Artists: A Selective Overview 168
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Interviews and Art by Select J.R.R. Tolkien Artists 175
Tim Kirk’s Works 175
Colleen Doran: Drawn to Please 180
Steve Hickman: The Art of Imagination 184
Donato Giancola’s Classical Art 188
Michael Whelan: The Master 194
Michael Kaluta: Flights of the Fantastic 199
Chapter 12 The Literary Landscape of Tolkien’s World............................ 203
Chapter 13 Tolkien Websites: The Road Goes Ever On............................. 213
Chapter 14 The Essential J.R.R. Tolkien: My Personal Picks ................... 225
Final Word The Importance of Story.............................................................. 231
Appendix A Glass Onion Graphics .................................................................. 235
Appendix B The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy:......................... 237
The Exhibition
Appendix C Tall Towers, Brave Kings, Wise Wizards, and......................... 239
Precious Rings: A Celebration of Fantasy Art
Appendix D Flights of Imagination................................................................... 241
Appendix E Ted Nasmith, His Tolkien Art, and the Chalk Farm Gallery. 243
Appendix F Tolkien, Licensing, and Copyrights...and Wrongs................... 247
About the Author and Illustrator.......................................................................... 257
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