An exceptionally rare book signed in Elvish script by Lord of the Rings author is being auctioned for £15,000.
The writer inscribed the edition of The Return of the King in his own Tengwar script.
It translates as John R R Tolkien.
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Tolkien created the runic style for his beloved series of tales.
The book was part of a full set to three University of Oxford students in the 1950s.
Alan Egerton Parker, a teacher and house master who was an undergraduate at University College Oxford in 1957, read the trilogy and decided, along with two friends, to track down the author who was retired and living in Oxford.
Tolkien greeted the students at his home, invited them in for tea and the four began a regular series of meetings, as reported by What’s The Jam.
Towards the end of the students’ final term, Tolkien gifted each with a signed set of The Lord of the Rings as a memento of their times together.
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Expert Max Hasler said: “It is exceptionally unusual for Tolkien to have signed his works not only in English, but in the very language he created for his fantasy world – Elvish.”
It along with the other books will be auctioned by Forum Auctions in Battersea, south east London next Thursday, (25 Sept).
The auction house expects it to sell for between £10,000 and £15,000.
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