ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOBBIT

Finding ourselves deeply immersed in the roleplay of The Hobbit, it seems only fitting we take a moment to celebrate today as the 84th anniversary of The Hobbits first publishing,

September 21, 1937.

In honor of that event, Bag-End has mounted An Exhibition Of Tolkiens Artwork, largely from The Hobbit on its walls, curated by Bilbo himself.

All are invited to tour the exhibition anytime. Don’t stand on ceremony or at the front door. Just touch and walk in to enjoy the art of the gifted writer that made our RP possible. Then head down the hall, to the parlor and touch the floorplan on the atrium table for an Annotated Guide to each J.R.R. Tolkien painting in the exhibit.

The Smithsonian reports “Tolkien was reported to be extremely involved in the design and illustration of the books, so much so that his editors joked about it. One of his publishers, Rayner Unwin, said: “In 1937 alone Tolkien wrote 26 letters to George Allen & Unwin… detailed, fluent, often pungent, but infinitely polite and exasperatingly precise… I doubt any author today, however famous, would get such scrupulous attention.”

Many will appreciate the time J.R.R. Tolkien took to create this world, as he had a very specific idea for how the story should look and went so far as to include his own set of illustrations he had drawn. Not a professional artist by his own admission, his use of simple stylized forms, color and line conveyed a charming believability and longing in its readers.

As you will also discover in the

guide, it was a family affair, with Tolkien’s son Christopher, re-drawing maps from his father's sketches. Fans might also be surprised to learn from the illustrations that Bilbo didn’t always go barefoot, as demonstrated in the painting 'Conversation With Smaug.' The illustration did not make the first English printing by Allen & Unwin, as only black and white prints were used. But it did make the second, with the caption ‘O Smaug the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities'.

Few books are born to such critical acclaim, being nominated for A Carnegie Medal and winning the prize for best juvenile fiction from the New York Herald Tribune. But even fewer books go on to redraw the map of literature into a country all its own, where so many of us enjoy spending our time.

For a peek inside the challenges facing an author developing such a massive codex, pay close attention to the lower right corner of a bowing Bilbo Baggins in footwear, doffing a long pointy hat. This lead to some confusion in the first American edition in 1938 by Houghton Mifflin. The publisher used the image on both the book’s front cover and title page (shown below), then had to replace it in later editions that year with the Houghton Mifflin logo due to the authors book references for the Hobbit preference of going shoeless; despite the author's illustrations to the contrary.

It's probably just as well, as fans wouldn’t have it any other way. Which is why some may mark tomorrow, September 22, as the Autumn Equinox and first day of Fall, but LOTR fans will mark it as….

INTERNATIONAL HOBBIT DAY!

Yep, that’s the official day celebrating Bilbo and Frodo's birthdays on September 22. To honor the occasion, BAG-END will be hosting a community dinner party for all who can make it…

Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, Humans, Goblins, Orcs, Wizards are all invited, as is anyone who can sit in a dinner chair without their head going through the roof. (Trolls take notice)

Bilbo may not have fireworks, unless Gandalf shows up to light them off, but he will be emptying his pantry for a feast, the likes of which have not been seen since 13 dwarves showed up at his front door. ,,, And there is always a game of plate toss to be had in the backyard.

Come early to tour the exhibit if you like, but be prompt for dinner, which any hobbit knows is precisely when it should be:*

Breakfast - 7 a.m.

Second Breakfast - 9 a.m.

Elevenses - 11 a.m.

Luncheon - 1 p.m.

Afternoon Tea - 4 p.m.

DINNER - 6 p.m. (SLT)

Supper - 8 p.m.

It will be an OOC event so dinner conversation can flow 'au natural'....

LATER THAT NIGHT....

3 hobbits, an elf, a goblin, and a dwarf walk into a dinner party...

Bifur, always the art critic, comments on the new Tolkien Exhibit; "Why am I not in any of them pretty pictures?" He then engages in polite conversation with Miss Mercy before turning to Bilbo to ask "When do we eat?"

Dinner guests with a few late comers added in, left to right...

Miss Moonshadow, Miss Mercy, some goblin guy, Bilbo the birthday boy, Bifur and Mr. Bumbles.

Clean up after...Miss Mercy instructs Bifur on the proper way to wash Bilbo's plates, then takes over after he breaks too many of them.

The problem with Goblins at a dinner party.

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* From askmiddlearth.tumblr.com 'The Seven Daily Hobbit Meals' (or six, if supper and dinner are combined/interchangeable as the same meal)