It’s a small wonder we consider film as the form of art that speaks the clearest to our minds. And there’s also nothing new in when we say that the mind is a queer thing that enjoys being challenged. Among many reasons, that is why not one thing in existence can ever compare to the power of a written word. That sacred mystery of nothing but plain ink absorbed by the blankness of the rustling pages, bestowed with an ability to cast a spell on a soul and then re-emerge from its deep within with a tremble of a thousand butterflies. Time, being perhaps the hardest challenge of them all, is another mystery of enormous power. And being able to view the word that changed the lives of many, frozen a century ago in what it has started out as and to see what the time has made of it is a great privilege. So gather up, ye lovely folk, it is your lucky year for such is the opportunity in the making!
The Hobbit (1937), Farmer Giles of Ham (1949), and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), as well as a few other published and unpublished Tolkien manuscripts which nowadays reside at Marquette University, will be presented for public showings from January till November of 2014. The manuscripts have been held in the Memorial Library to this day because of the massive enthusiasm of William B. Ready (1914-1981), a onetime library director who vowed to collect original pieces. He had recognized the uniqueness of Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings long before the author was bestowed with numerous titles and a heartwarming praise. Thus Ready approached The Professor back in 1956 in order to purchase his manuscripts, which they agreed on with a price of 1,500 pounds.
In the secondary holdings, there also is a massive collection of books that may be related to Tolkien in any way. You can view the Marquette Library On-Line Catalog to find something that might interest you personally.
S. Gary Hunnewell, a student of Tolkien, residing in Arnold, Missouri, is building an inclusive collection of all periodicals produced by Tolkien enthusiasts.
The descriptive inventory for the J.R.R. Tolkien Collection is also available online.
Please visit The Official Marquette University Website for more information on dates.
Please use the following contact for any further enquiries:
William Fliss, Archivist
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Raynor Memorial Libraries
1355 W. Wisconsin Avenue
P.O. Box 3141,
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3141
(414) 288-5906; FAX (414) 288-3123
William.Fliss@marquette.edu
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