By Lars-Terje Lysemose
From Athelas no. 17. Copyright Imladris - Danmarks Tolkienforening
After my visit to Marquette University, I shared my experience with Lester Simons, the webmaster of The Tolkien Society, through the Internet (http://www. tolkiensociety.org). Here's an extract of our conversation in late August, following my article in Politiken, referring to The Tolkien Society, which Lester had become aware of through Danes asking for information about the Danish Tolkien Society.
Lars-Terje: If you would like an original issue, I could send you one... (it's beautifully illustrated with a fiery dragon on the front page and one of the new Alan Lee illustrations).
Lester: Yes please! It will probably end up in our Archives, with all the other newspaper articles gathered over the years.
Lars-Terje: When I visited Milwaukee this summer on a Saturday in Mid-June (after having spent five months working as a journalist in Minneapolis), the rain was pouring down in streams. I was stuck at the bus station for a whole 3 1/2 hours. Later in the day, the chief archievist, Mr. Elston, rushed in (he was off-duty) because of the danger of flooding!
Lester: I remember that bus-station with less than fond memories too! As for Marquette and the Archives, I agree with you. I've been there three times and the matter of rain was of some concern ! They stopped letting people take out more than one folder at a time, when they discovered that someone had actually removed a piece of paper as a "souvenir"!
Lars-Terje: I was amazed - the very same and only word I wrote in the guest book - how easy it would have been for me to snap a souvenir. Actually several times, more than one folder was at display on the tables - and the librarian in charge didn't care to check if the papers were back in the folders when I handed them to him.
Lester: As you probably know, the entire collection is now on microfilm (but one gets cross-eyes using the viewers for too long.!)
Lars-Terje: Actually, they don't have everything on microfilm (yet). If you want to hold a real and fragile original in your hands, ask for the manuscripts for Mr. Bliss or the cover for The Hobbit! Woaw, THEY are fragile! (and they look much different in colours than the books most of us have on the shelves). After having turned the first few pages, the librarian rushed in with a pair of white gloves to use... He seemed to having got very nervous by the thought that he had just handed me those originals!
Lester: I did see the original of Mr. Bliss - the colours are wonderfully subtle and almost impossible to reproduce. Did you see Aragorn's Letter in that angular tenqwar (the closest to "black letter" tengwar that I've found)?
Lars-Terje: Incidentally, this happened just prior to the appearence of Charles Elston. Though in a rush, he, on the other hand, did seem more calm when I told him I had met John Rateliff (also living in Wisconsin, a local and frequent visitor since he is currently working on writing Bilbo - The History of The Hobbit) at the Bree Moot in Minneapolis and that he had a copy of 'my' magazine Athelas in the Archieves.
Lester: John is from Arkansas and has an accent that could cut oak beams - but he insists it has mellowed since he moved to Wisconsin! He is another of the "fan-scholars" with a very good academic reputation so I am not surprised Charles relaxed!
Lars-Terje: And when I referred to the difficulty of reading the microfilmed manuscripts (Tolkien's scribble handwriting AND bad processing), he told me that the whole process of microfilming Tolkien's manuscripts will be re-done in a year when Christopher Tolkien is to hand over a pile of papers, primarily from the Silmarillion and other 'ancient' tales. Right now, you can find pieces from the Silmarillion in between the manuscripts of LotR.
Lester: Oh boy ! Something to look forward to next year! Thanks (in advance) for the copy of the article.
* * *
Sadly missed, Lester Simons, 46, died from pneumonia on 11 October 1997. Lester Simons was a great contributor to Tolkien fandom as an active and founder member of The Tolkien Society in Britain since 1969.
-LT