Tolkien treasure trove set to make thousands

AUTHOR'S PIPE, BRIEFCASE AND FIRST EDITION BOOK UP FOR AUCTION

- TOM BEVAN News Reporter

A collection of items owned and used by JRR Tolkien, inset left, are coming up for auction

A BRIEFCASE used by JRR Tolkien to carry around first drafts of the Hobbit is being sold at auction.

The unique case is among a treasure trove of items belonging to the author expected to fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds in total.

The case was used by Tolkien at Pembroke College in Oxford and is expected to sell for over £10,000.

Tolkien was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke between 1925 and 1945, during which time he penned his first masterpiece, The Hobbit.

But his early life was spent in Birmingham, where he grew up and went to King Edward's School. His writings were famously inspired by several landmarks including Sarehole Mill, in Hall Green, around the corner from his boyhood home.

Among the lots are his personal doorknocker, a smoking pipe given to him by close friend and fellow author CS Lewis and an incredibly rare first edition of the Hobbit.

Andrew Stowe, of Auctioneum Ltd, said: "To think that his first draft of The Hobbit could have been carried in this very case is remarkable.