Inspired by my find yesterday, I decided to put together a timeline of highlights in my Tolkien fandom.
1972 March: “The Hobbit”, play at
SHS. I was in the 3rd Grade.
[1973 September 2: Tolkien passes
away.]
1975-1976
--12 years old--Seventh Grade—AJB Year 2--Read “The Hobbit”
1976-1977
--13 years old--Eighth Grade—AJB Year 3—Read “The Lord of the Rings”; bought
“The Tolkien Reader” and “A Guide to Middle-earth”
1977 November 7: Rankin/Bass animated
“The Hobbit” premieres.
[1978 Hildebrandt Tolkien Calendar]
the famous “Calenoar”
1978: “Sir Gawain and the Green
Knight-Pearl-Sir Orfeo”
1978 July 10: Got “The Hobbit Desk
Calendar”. [remaindered]
1978 August 5: Got Fantastic Films
Magazine with my first glimpse of the Bakshi LOTR film.
1978 November 15: Release date of
Bakshi LOTR. Much getting of merchandise at this time, including soundtracks,
posters, and action figures.
1979
November 9: Mom buys me “The Silmarillion”
1978-79:
Hardback copies of “Farmer Giles of Ham”, “Smith of Wootton Major”, “The
Adventures of Tom Bombadil”
1980-1981
--17 years old--Twelfth Grade—Senior
1980 November
29: Bought “Unfinished Tales”
1981-1982
--18 years old--first year college
1981:
“The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien”
1983:
“Mr. Bliss”
1983-1996:
“The History of Middle-earth” [14 volumes]
1998:
“Roverandom”
2001-2003:
“The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy
2007:
‘The Great Tales Trilogy’ begins with “The Children of Hurin”
2009:
What I think of as “The World Legends” series begins with “The Legend of Sigurd
and Gudrun”
2012-2014:
“The Hobbit” film trilogy
2013:
“The Fall of Arthur” (World Legends)
2014: “Beowulf: A
Translation and a Commentary” (World Legends)
2015: “The Story of Kullervo”
(World Legends)
2016:
The World Legends series concludes with “The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun”
2017:
“Beren and Luthien”, the second in the Great Tales Trilogy
2018
August 30: The Great Tales Trilogy concludes with “The Fall of Gondolin”
[2020
January 16: Christopher Tolkien dies.]
2021
January: My latest Tolkien book, a new illustrated edition of “Unfinished
Tales”
All
through the years I bought many another edition of Tolkien’s books and tons of tie-ins:
calendars, books written by others about Tolkien and Middle-earth, music,
merchandise, and action figures. They are harder to pinpoint, as many books I
did not purchase at the time they were released but years later. I’m hoping to
get the new book “The Nature of Middle-earth” later this year.
Tolkien opened a door for me back in High School, and I have never looked back. I still have the old Ballantine paperbacks even though I have the Red Book, among other printings, and have collected almost all there is to have on the man and Middle-Earth. It had gotten me through some hard times and continues to inspire me. I just got an unfinished Bakshi banner. I find it rare and wonderful to still be so enthused by it after 40 years.
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