Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth

January 25 through May 12, 2019

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” With these words the Oxford professor J.R.R. Tolkien ignited a fervid spark in generations of readers. From the children’s classic The Hobbit to the epic The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien’s adventurous tales of hobbits and elves, dwarves and wizards have introduced millions to the rich history of Middle-earth. Going beyond literature, Tolkien’s Middle-earth is a world complete with its own languages and histories. Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth celebrates the man and his creation. The exhibition will be the most extensive public display of original Tolkien material for several generations. Drawn from the collections of the Tolkien Archive at the Bodleian Library (Oxford), Marquette University Libraries (Milwaukee), the Morgan, and private lenders, the exhibition will include family photographs and memorabilia, Tolkien’s original illustrations, maps, draft manuscripts, and designs related to The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

An exhibition organized by the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford in collaboration with the Morgan Library & Museum, New York with the support of The Tolkien Trust.
® TOLKIEN is a registered trademark of the Tolkien Estate Limited.

Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth is made possible at the Morgan Library & Museum through the generosity of Fay and Geoffrey Elliott and with the support of The Tolkien Estate, The Tolkien Trust, and members of the Tolkien family.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), Dust jacket design for The Hobbit [April 1937], pencil, black ink, watercolor, goache. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien Drawings 32. © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937.

Selected images

The Victoria Studio, 201 Broad Street, Birmingham, Edith Bratt, aged 17, 1906, Black and white photograph.Tolkien Trust, MS. Tolkien photogr. 16, fol. 1. © The Tolkien Trust 1977.

Studio of H.J. Whitlock & Sons Ltd., Birmingham, J.R.R. Tolkien, January 1911, black and white photograph. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien photogr. 4, fol.16 © The Tolkien Trust 1977.

J.R.R. Tolkien in his study, ca. 1937, black and white photograph. Tolkien Trust, MS. Tolkien photogr. 5, fol. 94. © The Tolkien Trust 2015.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), The Shores of Faery, 10 May 1915, watercolor, black ink, pencil. Tolkien Trust, MS. Tolkien Drawings 87, fol. 22r. © The Tolkien Trust 1995.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), Fantasy landscape, 1915?, watercolor, black ink. Tolkien Trust, MS. Tolkien Drawings 87, fol. 26. © The Tolkien Trust 2015.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), The Book of Lost Tales, 1916-1917, lined exercise book, 'The High School Exercise Book.' Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien S I/1, fol. 1a. © The Tolkien Estate Limited 2017.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), Father Christmas drawing of "Me" and "My House," 1920, watercolor, white body color, silver powder, black ink. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien Drawings 38. © The Tolkien Estate Ltd 1976.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), Drawing by Father Christmas of the Aurora Borealis, December 1926, watercolor, black ink, colored pencil, pencil. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien Drawings 46. © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1976.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves, July 1937, watercolor, pencil, white body color. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien Drawings 29. © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), Conversation with Smaug, July 1937, black and colored ink, watercolor, white body color, pencil. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien Drawings 30. © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), Dust jacket design for The Hobbit, April 1937, pencil, black ink, watercolor, gouache. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien Drawings 32. © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the Water, August 1937, watercolor, white body color, black ink. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien Drawings 26. © The Tolkien Estate Limited 1937.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), The first map of The Lord of the Rings, c.1937–1949, black, red and blue ink, pencil, colored pencil. Bodleian Libraries, MS. Tolkien Drawings 103. © The Tolkien Trust 1992, 2015.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), The Fire-writing, 1953, red and black ink, pencil. Tolkien Trust, MS. Tolkien Drawings 90, fol. 39r. © The Tolkien Trust 2015.