Stolen set of first editions TLOTR returned to hospice charity shop

There and back again: Rare set of first editions of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings worth £25,000 are stolen from hospice charity shop… only to be secretly returned after public outcry

  • St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester reported tomes stolen on December 19
  • Trio of first editions were on sale for £1,495 and taken from a locked cabinet  
  • But they were discovered on a shelf in the store 10 days later by shocked staff  

A rare set of J.R.R Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy that had been stolen from a hospice charity shop has been secretly returned after a huge public backlash.

St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester reported the incident to police after the collection was taken from a locked cabinet in December.

The three-volume set which included The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King had been on sale for £1,495.

Following the theft, the charity had admitted it was ‘saddened’ by the actions of thieves, who had scuppered the hospice’s plans to raise a large amount of cash for the hospice’s charitable work.

But ten days later, bosses at St Richard’s revealed the three books had been returned in a jubilant message shared across social media. 

Dan Corns, commercial director at the hospice, believes the perpetrator’s guilty conscience ensured the safe return of the treasured tomes.  

He explained to The Times: ‘Obviously someone has thought about it and through their conscience has decided perhaps they didn’t do the right thing.’  

A rare set of J.R.R Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy that had been stolen from a hospice charity shop has been secretly returned after a huge public backlash

Tolkien’s epic trilogy follows the Fellowship’s quest to destroy the ring of power. Pictured from left to right: Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf and SIr Ian Mckellen, Gandalf in The Two Towers (2002)

The hardbacks, first published in 1957, contained Tolkien’s first-edition text from three years prior, but were not first printings. If they were, the collection would have been valued at more than £25,000. 

The collection was reported stolen on December 19, leaving the charity’s bosses frustrated just before the festive period.

However, the books were safely returned ten days later, with a surprised store manager discovering them placed inconspicuously on a shelf during a routine tidy-up of the store. 

Mr Corns added: ‘While saddened by the theft of these beautiful, valuable books, we’ve been heartened by the response from others sharing our story and willing the items to be returned to us.

‘Now – in the most wonderful of plot twists – the books were returned to a shelf in the store on Wednesday 29 December. 

‘On sale for £1,495, the trilogy will raise a substantial amount towards our hospice care here in Worcestershire.

St Richard’s Hospice in Worcester (pictured above) reported the incident to police after the collection was taken from a locked cabinet in December

The hardbacks, first published in 1957, contained Tolkien’s first-edition text from three years prior, but were not first printings. If they were, the collection would have been valued at more than £25,000. Pictured: J.R.R Tolkien in 1961

‘We’re sure this was only possible thanks to the power of community and thank all our incredible supporters for raising awareness of our appeal and bringing the books back to us.’

In October, a sought-after copy of Tolkien’s The Hobbit that features spelling mistakes on the cover sold for a whopping £59,000 at auction.

The rare 1937 first impression was one of the first ever printed and includes original maps and illustrations by the author. 

Only around 1,500 first impression copies were printed that year, making those which come to auction highly collectable. 

St Richard’s Hospice supports more than 2,900 patients, family members and bereaved people.

With a staff exceeding 250, it reports annual costs of more than £8 million. 

Who was JRR Tolkien? The Oxford professor who fought in the Somme and wrote the Hobbit 

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa 1892 and moved to England when he was four. 

He grew up in Sarehole, in Birmingham, and went on to became a Professor at Oxford University where he studied Old and Middle English.

While working at the university, Tolkien invented languages of his own. But when World War I broke out, he enlisted as a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers and fought in the Battle of the Somme.

He was eventually released from duty due to illness.

When he returned to Oxford after the war he penned a line about a ‘hobbit’ while grading a paper. 

The line went on to become one of his most famous works, The Hobbit novel, and he later wrote The Lord of the Rings series.

The books contained stories from a fantasy land partially inspired by ancient European myths. The world had its own sets of maps, lore and its own unique language.    

He called it Middle-earth and the world was peopled by men, elves, dwarves, trolls, orcs, goblins and hobbits.

The Hobbit was published in 1937, before his famous trilogy. 

Part one of the series, The Fellowship of the Ring was published in 1954, while The Two Towers and The Return of the King followed in 1955.  

Tolkien had four children, three sons and a daughter, who all carried on his legacy after his death on September 2, 1973, at the age of 81. 

Source: Read Full Article

Previous post Blood test could identify pregnant women at risk of pre-eclampsia
Next post Sony confirms PlayStation VR2 virtual reality headset at CES 2022