Collecting The Silmarillion (09.02.05 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

When collecting Tolkien books most people stop when The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings is on the shelves. Yet there is another treasure to explore. For most in the beginning a hard read, but maybe the most valuable literature treasure for others. I'll try to tell more on this book, The Silmarillion, it's origin and all on collecting this marvellous work, ranging from limited to translated editions.

The Silmarillion is actually Tolkien's first book and also his last. In origin it precedes even The Hobbit, and is the story of the First Age of Tolkien's Middle Earth. It shows us the ancient history to which characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, talk, rhyme and sing about. Tolkien worked on it, changed it, and enlarged it throughout his entire life. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien, with the assistance of fantasy fiction writer Guy Gavriel Kay to reconstruct some major parts.

Inside the book

The Silmarillion combines five parts:1. The Ainulindalë - the creation of Eä, Tolkien's universe.2. The Valaquenta - a description of the Valar and Maiar3. The Quenta Silmarillion - the history of the events before and during the First Age4. The Akallabêth - the history of the Second Age5. Of the Rings of Power and the Third AgeThese five parts, in origin separate works, were put together as this is how J.R.R.Tolkien would hav liked it.Cchapters in the book that i like a lot:- "Of Beren and Lúthien"- "The Narn i Chîn Húrin" - The Tale of the Children of Húrin- "The Fall of Gondolin" - which is my all time favourite

Development of the text

The earliest drafts of The Silmarillion stories date back to as early as 1917, when Tolkien, a British officer stationed in France during World War I was laid up in a military field hospital with trench fever. At the time, he called his collection of nascent stories The Book of Lost Tales. After the war, he tried to publish some of his stories, however many editors rejected him, regarding his work as "fairy tale" unsuitable for adult readership. He tried once more, having already published The Hobbit in 1937; however that time too, The Silmarillion was deemed too complicated. Tolkien was asked to write a sequel to The Hobbit which would become his significant novel The Lord of the Rings.But Tolkien never abandoned his book. He regarded The Silmarillion as the most important of his work, seeing in its tales not only the genesis of Middle-earth and later events as told in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but the entire core of his legendarium. He continued to work on them over the next several decades, revising and reworking his ideas, right up until his death in 1973.

After Tolkien's death

For several years after his father's death, Christopher Tolkien worked through the mass of papers written by his father creating a coherent, consistent and chronologically accurate whole. On some of the later parts of the "Quenta Silmarillion" which were in the roughest state, he worked with fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay to construct a narrative practically from nothing. The final result, which included genealogies, maps, an index and the first-ever published Elvish word list was published in 1977.

Collecting "The Silmarillion"

Since its publication The Silmarillion is available in several states. There for it is possible to start collecting every single impression of The Silmarillion. Although already it is becoming a huge job, it is still much easier to succeed then trying to collect every single Hobbit out there. Another kind of collectors, like a friend of mine, try and collect all translations of The Silmarillion. An other interesting track to follow. Not only because of the languages, but mainly because of the strangest illustrations you will encounter. Next to that it promises a lot of new friendships. It is hard to start this kind of collection without making new friends at all. Of course there are many hardback and many more interesting paperback from The Silmarillion, yet few are really scarce. Most of them are easy to find and rather cheap to buy. There are at the other hand some real treasures which are harder to find, like limited, deluxe and signed The Silmarillion's. I'll give a short list down here to show some nice copies.  I know i will not be showing the first American The Silmarillion, maybe just because it is i guess the most common The Silmarillion on the market, and of no particular collectable value. Yet it is my own reading copy!

Different editions of "the Silmarillion"

I know i missed some other collectable editions of The Silmarillion, yet i covered a nice selcetion. Whenever you feel to add something or want to write a review, please send it to me!

References

• J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography by Wayne G. Hammond, with the assistance of Douglas A. Anderson.
• Book and Magazine Collector, Februari 1992, No.95
• The Silmarillion, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
• The Silmarillion, From Tolkienbooks.net

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