Lord of the Rings books beats auction estimate

The books, all in their original dust-jackets include ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’, second impression, dating from December 1954, ‘The Two Towers’ also from 1954 and ‘The Return of the King’ dating from 1955.

Published by George Allen & Unwin Ltd, the volumes were all part of one lot and were expected to fetch between £500 and £800.

The three books were purchased by an online bidder yesterday (FRI JUNE 23) after a lot of interest from bidders both locally and overseas.

Richard Forrester, salesroom manager at Cuttlestones Auctioneers & Valuers based on Clarence Street, Wolverhampton said: "The salesroom was very excitable on the day. Though there weren't many bidders in person, we had a great deal of interest from overseas with lots of people bidding online.

"The vendor is very happy with the amount raised in the sale and I hope the winning bidder is happy with their historic purchase."

The sale of the books comes as a house once lived in by the Lord of The Rings author has also gone up for sale for the first time in 54 years.

The Warwickshire home was a haven for the author, JRR Tolkien, and his wife, Edith Bratt, after she broke of her former engagement to marry the author instead.

The four-bedroom Edwardian terrace house, built in 1906, went on the market for £285,000 and has already had a huge amount of interest.

Tolkien came from very humble beings and at the age of 16 was growing up in an orphanage in Birmingham, where he first lay eyes on his future wife, Edith Bratt, 1908.

He fell in Love with Edith, who was three years his senior, straight away but was kept away from her by his legal guardian until his way 21-years-old.

By this time Edith had moved to Cheltenham and was engaged to another man but on his 21st birthday he wrote his childhood sweetheart a letter declaring his love and winning the heart of Edith who broke of her engagement.

Edith then moved to Warwick to set up a home at 15, Victoria Street. It became a happy meeting place for the young love birds who endured years apart while Tolkien lived in Oxford, reading English at the University.

Edith went on to marry Tolkien, in 1916, at St Mary Immaculate Roman Catholic Church, Warwick.

By the time the two married Britain was at war and Tolkien was enlisted in the army to begin his training.

Unable to bear being a part, Edith moved to Staffordshire to be near to her husband's camp and by July he was fighting for the Somme.

The house has hardly changed since then, with the original terrocotta tiles in the hallway, where Tolkien would have stepped on.

The current owner of the property, Sue Bromwich, was just nine years old when she moved in with her family in, 1961, and had remained there ever since.

Sue, 65, said: "We only found out around three years ago about the Tolkien owning the house.

"My friend came across an old picture and was sure it looked exactly like our house.

"I then did some research myself and found out about the house's history.

"Another friend of mine they found the marriage certificate and gave it to me as a present.

Sue, who is a fan of Tolkien's books, said: "It's amazing as I'm a fan and a very romantic story.

"Two people from Lord of the Rings enthusiasts, from Norway, tracked our house down and were taking picture outside one day.

"We were completed confused until we spoke to them and they said they were in the UK for a Lord of the Rings convention.

"I think Tolkien may have been inspired by the local area and it's quite and emotional sale.

"This house has a lot of sentimental value."

Tolkien's great nephew also has a connection to the local area. He is a sculptor who has designed several monumental sculptures, including the award-winning Sentinel and has a wood carving and metal sculpture business at Cradley Heath.

Also sold at the auction was a collection of autographs featuring singers and entertainers of the 1950s and 1960s which sold within its estimate of £200-£400 for £380.

Most are made out ‘To Shirley’ - for Wolverhampton local Shirley Fahy (neé Hill) who built the collection over two decades - and feature variously on photographs, programmes, post cards and tickets. Collected mainly in person at the stage door, signatures include Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dusty Springfield, Billy Eckstine, The Hollies, Billy J. Kramer, Cilla Black, Gene Pitney, Johnnie Ray, Andy Williams, Peter Sellers, Charlton Heston - and many more.

The lot also included a copy of newspaper cutting from the Express & Star, in which Shirley can be seen in a crowd outside the Gaumont Cinema in Wolverhampton, enthusiastically trying to catch the attention of her favourite performer, David Whitfield.