Tolkien Tuesday: Major Events

I discovered, and began a Tolkien fan, in 2001-2002. Because of that, I'm a little bit new to the game. That also means, in the years since, I've witnessed a few major events in the Tolkien area. Or, major publications if you will: deluxe editions and calendars celebrating a new book, or a new version of one.

Here they are, since when I became a fan:

2005: The Lord of the Rings 50th Anniversary. The book was corrected and reset, the new text has now become the new standard. The initial publications consisted of hardbacks, deluxe editions and calendars, among other items.

2007: The Children of Hurin. In a story that has been told before, in such place as The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, The Tale of The Children got its own stand-alone release in 2007. Initial publications consisted of hardbacks, deluxe editions, and calendars for 2008.

2009: The Silmarillion illustrated by Ted Nasmith: calendar. It was high-time that Ted Nasmith's artwork from The Silmarillion, which he illustrated and was published in 2004, got released in calendar forma. It's a few years after the initial publication of the book itself (Ted Nasmith's illustrated edition, I mean) but it is fantastic and fits perfectly beside Alan Lee's illustrated The Hobbit and also Lee's The Lord of the Rings boxed set.

2013: The Hobbit illustrated by Jemima Catlin. As much as I adore Alan Lee's artwork, Jemima Catlin's bring a fresh, whimsical and enchanting take on "Tolkien art"; and it suits the book quite well. Many consider The Hobbit to be a "children's book." If that's the case, then Catlin's artwork blends in perfectly with the charming text. Her artwork, and the way it's incorporated into the text, will remind you of classic 'story books', or books such as The Wind in the Willows. The event was celebrated with hardbacks, a deluxe edition edition, and a calendar for 2014.

2017: The Hobbit 80th Anniversary. The 80th anniversary was celebrated with the release of The Hobbit facsimile first edition boxed, as well as a calendar of Tolkien's black and white artwork he illustrated himself for the book.

2017: Beren and Luthien. Possibly the last Middle-earth book (not counting future anniversary (example: The Lord of the Rings 75th anniversary edition) or illustrated editions) to ever be released, the event was celebrated by way of publishing the book in hardback, deluxe edition, and a calendar for 2018. 

So there you have it! As you can see, since becoming a Tolkien fan, I've seen quite a few interesting publication events. Who knows what'll come in the years to come....