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Exclusive Photos: The Contract of Bilbo Baggins

If you loved Weta Workshop’s prop replica of The Contract of Bilbo Baggins, you’ll love this exclusive look at Weta Cave’s display of the already-favored item from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey!

The bad news is the stock in the Weta Cave and the online store sold out in about 3 hours. The good news is this gives you a little bit of time to save up your pennies to buy one when it’s back in stock. Keep an eye on the Weta store to see when it’s available again or you can skip the waiting and pre-order it.

In the meantime, feast your eyes on these exclusive, up-close photos of the contract, provided by Jack Machiela of The Noldor Blog.

Weta’s website describes the artist’s process:

Hand made by calligrapher and artist Daniel Reeve, who made the iconic original contract used in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, this is an absolutely authentic prop replica.

Daniel scans his original script which is then digitally printed onto five separate pieces of high-quality watercolour paper for each contract and then die cut to shape. This is the same paper used in the films.

Daniel explains the choice of paper: “The paper for the Contract is Arches watercolour 185gsm Cold-Pressed. A beautiful paper for calligraphy, with enough tooth to generate skips, texture and character in any pen work. It takes ink and paint beautifully, and can withstand repeated wettings.”

Daniel then commences the process of painting the edges of the various sheets and stitching them together by hand, and then fastens the thread with wax seals.

He painstakingly applies every crease and every wrinkle by hand, ageing the paper to achieve an authentic looking prop replica.

Each exquisite 4’7” x 2’2” (141cm x 66cm) piece of art is the work of one man and totally unique.

My favorite section is the signatures at the end! What do you think of this special glance at the contract?

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