Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to Lena de Grummond, October 17, 1966

In the infancy of the de Grummond Children's Literature Collection, Dr. Lena de Grummond was prolific about writing authors and illustrators soliciting materials, papers, and ephemera that she could share with students enrolled in library & information science, education, and children's literature courses at the University of Southern Mississippi. She wrote hundreds of letters a week asking for materials for her burgeoning collection in the hopes of starting something truly unique.

In October of 1966, Dr. de Grummond received a letter from J. R. R. Tolkien, well into his retirement at this point. In it he apologized for not signing a previous letter and wanted to rectify the situation by including his signature here. He notes that having been "moved by [her] plea" he would "try and find some item or items" to send to the University of Southern Mississippi. He never got around to it, however, and died in 1973. J. R. R. Tolkien was a British author, translator and professor best known for his works, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These titles became so popular worldwide that Tolkien thereafter would be considered the father of fantasy.

Through this process of directly asking creators for their output, Dr. de Grummond successfully collected thousands of cubic square feet of manuscript material that contribute to what is now considered one of the largest children's literature repositories in North America.

To view this item, please visit Special Collections in room 305 of McCain Library & Archives. If you have any questions, please contact Brooke Cruthirds at

Text by Brooke Cruthirds, Assistant Curator of the de Grummond Collection.