 Ring Ping!! |
Anyone wishing to be added to or removed from the Ring-Ping list, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Posted on 07/09/2008 7:27:11 AM PDT by martin_fierro
Builder discovers "priceless" Tolkien postcard
By Mike Collett-White Tue Jul 8, 10:29 AM ET
LONDON (Reuters) - A demolition man stripping a fireplace from the former home of "The Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien stumbled across a postcard to the writer dated 1968, and hopes to sell it for a small fortune.
Stephen Malton, who runs Prodem Demolition in Bournemouth on the south English coast, was working in the house in the nearby town of Poole before it was bulldozed to make way for a new construction project.
"Before we demolish a house we do an internal strip out," Malton said Tuesday.
"One of the main features was a fireplace, and upon removing that we came across three postcards. The third one was a postcard dated 1968 and addressed to J.R.R. Tolkien."
Malton said research on the Internet suggested that the carved wooden fireplace with marble inlay, a feature of the house when Tolkien lived there from 1968 to 1972, was already worth up to $250,000.
"To tie in both the fireplace and the postcard, we are talking about a price of around $500,000 for the combined pair," the 42-year-old told Reuters by telephone.
He contacted the Tolkien Estate, which manages the author's copyrights, and said that they had given him the all clear to sell the fireplace and postcard. The estate could not immediately be reached for comment.
Malton said he would probably sell the items at auction, although according to local newspaper the Dorset Echo, he has already had an offer from a Tolkien enthusiast in Belgium.
The postcard was addressed to Tolkien at the Miramar Hotel in Bournemouth, where he and his wife Edith often stayed.
< -- SNIP -- >
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
ringping
i am busily maintaing trover here....
Addressed to Tolkien? Sounds like he wanted to burn it and missed. Anyone could write to him. I know he kept my correspondence in a book. :^)
Perhaps we need a second fireplace?
Maybe a Muslim expressed interest in the housing site. In the UK these days, Muslims get whatever they ask for.
[/s]
did some one get a post card form bilbo bagins.
Whereas it is said that his companion, CS Lewis, personally responded to every piece of fan mail he'd ever received :-)
Now if they found a RING near the fireplace. . . .
My Preciousssssssssss. . . .
"Before we demolish a house we do an internal strip out," Malton said Tuesday.
Vulture.
Ring Ping!! |
Anyone wishing to be added to or removed from the Ring-Ping list, please don't hesitate to let me know.
..my first reaction was ..So what?
Is it in Elvish?
Let me check, and see if it was worth reading this thread..............Nope. Never get those 3 minutes back!
A demolition man stripping a fireplace from the former home of "The Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien stumbled across a postcard to the writer dated 1968, and hopes to sell it for a small fortune. Stephen Malton, who runs Prodem Demolition in Bournemouth on the south English coast, was working in the house in the nearby town of Poole before it was bulldozed to make way for a new construction project. "Before we demolish a house we do an internal strip out," Malton said Tuesday.Gee, why not just spray the whole works with petrol and set fire to it?
I wouldn’t call them vultures. If the house had to be torn down anyway, why NOT save parts of it that are of some architectural value? Folks love being able to re-use mantels, moldings, doors, floors, that came from old homes. It would be silly to trash them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.