J. R. R. Tolkien's desk
The desk owned and used by J.R.R. Tolkien during his tenure as Merton Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford in the 1940s and 1950s comes to auction next month at Christie's' Groundbreakers: Icons of Our Time auction.
He used the roll-top desk during his productive literary period when he was finalising and proofing The Lord of the Rings, and later sold it to novelist Iris Murdoch, probably in the late 1960s. The estimate is £50,000-£80,000.
An earlier desk used by Tolkien to write The Hobbit was given to him by his wife in 1927. He later donated it to the charity Help the Aged who auctioned it, and is now held by the Wade Center at Wheaton College, Illinois.
Other highlights of the sale include:
“Groundbreakers spotlights those rare moments where imagination and innovation converge," said Thais Hitchins, Head of Sale, Junior Specialist, Classics Department. "From the earliest fossils that reveal the story of life on Earth to the creative sparks that redefined music, literature, and technology, these objects represent turning points in our collective story."
Exhibition viewing is at Christie's London, December 6–11 ahead of the auction on December 11.
Modern First Editions and World Literature in translation
