Fine, typed, signed letter to K. Jackson, dated 29th January 1968 on where the origin of Frodo and Bilbo’s house name, Bag-End, came from, with the original stamped envelope with 4d postage stamp. 1 page.
A fine typed letter signed responding to a request to name a house “bag-end”. Tolkien notes “…it may interest you to know that (however unfair it may seem) it is impossible to patent mere names…” Tolkien states he did not invent the name and cites the origin as “the local name of a house an aunt of mine lived in in Worcestershire: an old tumbledown manor house at the end of an untidy lane that led nowhere else…”
Tolkien’s Aunt Jane lived in a farm at the end of a lane in Dormston in Worcestershire (near Evesham) that locals called Bag End.
Having the strong mention of bag-end alongside the family association makes this letter very collectable.
Description and Condition:
Original Tolkien letter, 1 page, on blind stamped headed paper, 76 Sandfield Road, Oxford, dated 29 January 1968. The letter has the watermark Basildon Bond. Beautifully signed with the characteristic 3 dots and underscore. Includes the original stamped envelope addressed to K Jackson Esq. In fine condition with no foxing or damage.
