Literature in the News: Tolkien’s Annotated Map of Middle Earth Discovered

This is pretty cool.  From the UK’s Guardian: 

A recently discovered map of Middle-earth annotated by JRR Tolkien reveals The Lord of the Rings author’s observation that Hobbiton is on the same latitude as Oxford, and implies that the Italian city of Ravenna could be the inspiration behind the fictional city of Minas Tirith.

The map was found loose in a copy of the acclaimed illustrator Pauline Baynes’ copy of The Lord of the Rings. Baynes had removed the map from another edition of the novel as she began work on her own colour Map of Middle-earth for Tolkien, which would go on to be published by Allen & Unwin in 1970. Tolkien himself had then copiously annotated it in green ink and pencil, with Baynes adding her own notes to the document while she worked.

Blackwell’s, which is currently exhibiting the map in Oxford and selling it for £60,000, called it “an important document, and perhaps the finest piece of Tolkien ephemera to emerge in the last 20 years at least”.

J.R.R.Tolkien of course was author of Lord of the Rings.    

Here’s an image of a piece of the map off Google images.

Have you ever read the triology?  It’s a great read and thoroughly enjoyable for adolescent and adult.  Have you seen any of the movies?  They are great too.  But read the books before the movie.