'My Precious' Lord of the Rings map with hand-written notes by JRR Tolkein goes on display
TOLKEIN fans can see a newly discovered map of Middle Earth drawn by Christopher Tolkein with hand-written notes by the author, himself.
A rare Lord of the Rings map
The map was only discovered last October when it was put up for sale.
It was bought by the Bodleian Library in Oxford for £60,000 and is part of the permanent Tolkein archives.
The rare document feaures unique annotations and ammendments by J RR Tolkein, himself, that shed a fascinating light on his creation of Middle Earth.
The author's comments can be seen in green and blue ink on the small sheet of paper.
Tolkein's commenst can be seen in green and blue ink
The map is covered in Tolkein's notes
The famous author worked on the map with illustrator Pauline Baynes.
She created the first illustrative map for the 1969 imprint of Tolkien's trilogy and held onto the precious original sheet until it went up for sale last year.
Tolkein explained distances and geographical details to help Baynes decide on flora and fauna and other details for her illustrations.
Tolkein writes in one comment: "Hobbiton is assumed to be approx at latitude of Oxford."
Tolkein's unique map sold for £60,000
JRR Tolkein in his study at Oxford
Fans of the books will know that the hobbits, notably his beloved heroes Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, represent the attitudes and characteristics of "Little England."
Now we also learn that Tolkein also intended the hobbits and The Shire to share the climate and attributes of his own home town and surrounding countryside.
The Bodleian Libraries' keeper of special collections Chris Fletcher, said: "We're delighted to have been able to acquire this map and it's particularly appropriate that we are keeping it in Oxford.
"Tolkien spent almost the whole of his adult life in the city and was clearly thinking about its geographical significance as he composed elements of the map."
The map also features Tolkein's hand-written addition of place names in the Elvish language he created.
The map was originally drawn by his son Christopher for the 1954 edition of the trilogy.
Baynes went on to also work with Tolkein's fellow Oxford don – and best-selling fantasy author - CS Lewis on his Narnia books.
The unique Midle Earth map was unveiled to the public today in Oxford, for one day only. It is not yet known whether the Bodleian will make it part of any future public exhibitions of their extensive treasures in the Tolkein archives.