"Even The Smallest Person Can Change The Course Of The Future."

On this day J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring first appeared on store shelves in the United Kingdom. A used copy of that first edition with its original dust jacket would fetch an owner at least $6500. An autographed copy would easily be in six figures as Tolkien was a bit of an introvert and disliked autographing his books. I doubt that any sum would matter much to true fans. To them the words within are priceless.

Here is a brief video about the author's life and his creation of Middle Earth. The film comes from the Behind the Scenes series issued in the special edition video package of director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

It would take another generation following Tolkien's death in 1973 before a cinematic version of his great work would or perhaps could appear. In the interim his imagination gave new energy to a full range of fiction writers. His is a rich legacy that has recently been enjoyed and expanded with the video release of the Hobbit series - 2012 through 2014 - also by Peter Jackson.

The 1937 cover

Sources

Text:

title quote taken from The Fellowship of the Rings.