1976 The Father Christmas Letters J.R.R. Tolkien Lord Of The Rings Book 1st Ed

"The Father Christmas Letters presents one of the most charming and personal aspects of J.R.R. Tolkien's remarkable imagination. Beginning in 1920, when his eldest son John was three years old, Tolkien wrote and illustrated an elaborate series of letters from Father Christmas for his children, continuing the tradition for more than twenty years. Arriving each Christmas with distinctive handwriting, decorated envelopes, invented stamps and wonderfully imaginative illustrations, the letters gradually developed their own mythology centred upon Father Christmas's home at the North Pole and the often-chaotic adventures of his accident-prone companion, the North Polar Bear.

Edited by Tolkien's daughter-in-law Baillie Tolkien, the volume reproduces selections from these extraordinary family letters together with Tolkien's original drawings, paintings, decorated manuscripts, envelopes and stamps. The stories range from comic disasters involving the North Polar Bear to battles with troublesome goblins, wayward reindeer and the various mishaps affecting Christmas preparations. Tolkien's characteristic delight in invented languages, elaborate handwriting and detailed imaginary worlds is already strongly evident, making the collection particularly fascinating for readers interested in the creative mind behind The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Published by George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London in 1976, this is the First Edition of the work, issued only three years after Tolkien's death. The large-format production was designed to showcase the remarkable colour and monochrome reproductions of Tolkien's original artwork and correspondence, with the illustrated laminated boards themselves reproducing one of his distinctive Father Christmas designs. Presented here in very good condition, this is a particularly appealing early Tolkien collectible, combining significant first-edition status with some of the author's most intimate, playful and visually engaging work."