An Interview with The Folio Society and Alan Lee
One of our most highly anticipated releases of the year is the limited edition of The Hobbit, a follow up to the beautiful limited set of The Lord of the Rings from Folio Society, released back in 2022. In this interview we delve into the creation of this long-awaited special edition, a breathtaking collaboration between The Folio Society and the renowned Tolkien illustrator, Alan Lee. As one of the most beloved works of fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit has captivated generations of readers with its rich storytelling and expansive world-building. We are so grateful for the opportunity to sit down with the Head of Editorial at Folio Society, James Rose, as well as Alan Lee, whose stunning illustrations have become synonymous with Tolkien's legendarium. We hope you enjoy the interview and learning more about this special edition and the lovely people who created it!
James Rose the Head of Editorial from The Folio Society
Q: I know that I’m not alone in saying that Tolkien was a driving influence for my love of fantasy and this limited edition of The Hobbit is one of my most anticipated releases this year. The impact of this book is astronomical and judging by the fact that you have released multiple editions, including the gorgeous previous limited edition in 2002, I think you all feel the same way! How long has this edition been in the works and why do you think now is the time for this particular production?
Realistically we’ve had this in mind for around five years. We started working first on our limited edition of The Lord of the Rings back in late 2020 and released the edition in April 2022, but we knew then that we would follow it with The Hobbit. Drawing on the sell-out success of The Lord of the Rings we knew we had to do The Hobbit just as soon as schedules allowed.
Q: There are few authors who can generate the fervor created when a new special edition of their work gets announced. Why do you think Tolkien has not only remained so loved and read after all these years, but also continues to attract uniquely dedicated collectors to his body of work specifically?
There is a unique world created by Tolkien and it is utterly immersive, but what remains throughout his stories is the universality of their themes. Fans can all find something to latch onto in these books, whether that be heroism or fear, the grand adventure or the small details. There is a richness to the books which is truly compelling and I believe that is why they remain loved by older fans and new readers alike.
Q: Since this release is coming in relatively short order after the release of the limited edition of The Lord of the Rings, I think we can assume there will be some continuity between the last set and this release of The Hobbit. When creating a subsequent production like this, how do you decide what will be kept consistent from the adjacent release and what will change to make it something unique in its own right? Are there any aspects of The Hobbit release that will vary from your Lord of the Rings set? (trim, paper, typeface, design, interior layout, etc.)
Since 2020, these were all envisioned as one project, albeit in two stages, and we knew that we had to keep the details the same in both. Each is a companion to the other and so we have strived to keep the size, the paper, the design and of course the illustrator the same for both, including taking the maps and presenting these in their own fold-out case.
Q: At a trim size of 12in x 7 ¾ in, these are very substantial books! When you approach making a large statement piece like this, how do you think about the balance between making an impact for the collector who primarily wants them on the shelf versus the readability for the individuals who want to sit down and read them?
Absolutely. These might even be the largest editions currently on the market, but we have made sure that although we wanted the large size in order to present Alan’s artwork to its best we have carefully considered the presentation of the text in order to keep it very readable – the generous typesetting and page margins allow the words to breathe on the page. That said, no, you won’t be popping this in your rucksack for a weekend away.
Q: The Folio Society often includes extra and/or exclusive materials to provide some novel insight and unique commentary on the work. Will we get any interesting material within this addition and if so, how did you decide what would be included in addition to the text? Will we see any extras like the maps or print included in The Lord of the Rings limited edition?
In short, yes you will. Like our limited edition of The Lord of the Rings, we have taken the maps from within the text and have presented these in their own map case, allowing the reader to follow the map and read the novel simultaneously. We also have a specially commissioned frontispiece from Alan as well as a new print. On top of that, each copy is of course signed by Alan himself.
Q: Tolkien’s works are extremely hard to get rights to reproduce and few other publishers have gotten the chance to produce special editions of his writings. How did the relationship with Tolkien begin, and with his subsequent estate evolve? Is there a unique weight involved since you are creating some of the very few limited editions ever for one of the most famous authors of all time?
Folio is incredibly lucky to have had and maintained a relationship with Tolkien since 1976. We first produced an edition of The Hobbit then, using sheets taken from Allen & Unwin’s ‘De Luxe edition’ and went on to produce our first Lord of the Rings edition in 1977. This used illustrations by ‘Ingahild Grathmer’, who was in fact Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Tolkien had seen her sketches and had been favourably impressed, so, despite his stated opposition to an illustrated edition of the trilogy, his executors were persuaded to allow this edition to proceed, with the Queen’s designs redrawn by Eric Fraser. Since then, we have continued to work closely with the Tolkien Estate to create our unique editions. And yes, there is a unique weight involved in this, but I believe we are able to get the rights to Tolkien’s work because the Estate trusts us implicitly and because we create the world’s best books.
Q: There is no artist more synonymous with Tolkien than Alan Lee. There are plenty of amazing artists who have also contributed greatly to the art pantheon of Tolkien, but Alan Lee always enters my mind first when I think of Tolkien. What has it been like working alongside him throughout the years with these projects? Will we be treated to anything new from Alan in this new limited edition?
Alan is synonymous with the worlds of Tolkien and has defined the visual setting of Middle-earth for a generation, whether that is through his artworks alone or through the film adaptations by Peter Jackson. Throughout our collaboration Alan has been a pleasure to work with and his exacting standards have pushed Folio to present his artwork in the best possible way, striving each time for incredible printing and rendering. This edition features new endpaper designs by Alan, along with a new frontispiece, giclée print, and several existing illustrations that have been redrawn exclusively for us.
Alan Lee world-renowned Tolkien Illustrator
Q: There are very few artists who are so closely attached to the source material of their illustrations (Pauline Baynes/Chronicles of Narnia, Rockwell Kent/Moby Dick, Quentin Blake/Roald Dahl’s works, etc.) but you are among that storied group with your work on The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s body of work. Can you tell us how you first got involved in illustrating Tolkien’s work and how that relationship has evolved over time?
I first read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit when I was eighteen, and about to start a three-year course in graphic design. I was thoroughly immersed in the world that Tolkien had created but didn’t immediately start thinking about making pictures based on the stories. It wasn’t until I had been working as an illustrator for several years and had published some books in which my love of myth, legend and folklore had found expression that the opportunity for a deeper involvement with Middle-earth arose. One of these books – Castles – was published in the UK by Unwin Hyman, Tolkien’s publisher. It was a look at the role of castles in Legend and literature, and I had included a few depictions of the fortresses described in Tolkien’s work, and these found their way into one of the annual Tolkien calendars.
Unwin Hyman’s Tolkien editor, Jane Johnson, had the idea that the author’s centenary in 1992, would provide an opportunity for an illustrated edition, and approached Christopher Tolkien with the suggestion that I may provide the pictures. I had to do some sample drawings showing how I would treat the characters before being given the go-ahead and then did 50 watercolours for the single-volume edition.
A few years later I was invited to illustrate The Hobbit and made 25 colour pictures and a number of pencil drawings for chapter heads, tailpieces and vignettes to accompany the text. Other Tolkien books since then include Tales from the Perilous Realm, The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien, The Fall of Gondolin and, most recently, The Fall of Numenor. This last one was edited by Brian Sibley, famous for his radio adaptations of Tolkien’s work. All the other posthumous editions were the result of Christopher Tolkien’s thoughtful and skilled stewardship of his father’s work, and it has been a pleasure and an honour to have been entrusted with the role of illustrator for so many of them.
My approach to illustration, especially for writers with a strong visual sensibility, is to find space around the story where illustrations can open vistas without competing with the pictures being built up in the reader’s mind; to try to reinforce the reader’s imagination as much as possible. I do this by resisting the temptation to overelaborate the design, by not getting too close to the characters and by concentrating more on the landscapes and the atmosphere, rather than the dramatic highlights. I think working in watercolour and pencil helps to give the impression of a fluidity and openness to interpretation, which makes it easier for the reader to accept and appreciate their contribution to the world opening up in their mind.
The collaboration with Christopher on The Great Tales editions was even closer than on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. There was discussion about many aspects of the design and the scope of the pictures; among them an aversion to the idea of showing characters, like Morgoth, who should be considered to be “ineffable”, or too powerful to portray without risking their trivialisation. These discussions involved memorable visits to Christopher’s house in Provence, where I saw the stool that Christopher had sat on as a child listening to stories, including The Hobbit, next to his father’s well-worn chair.
Q: When you are approaching a new scene that you have not depicted before, what is your approach to wrapping your head around the perspective and tone you are going to create with the illustration? How important is it for you to get the descriptive details right from the source material and does it feel like something new every time or just returning to a familiar world that you have spent so much of your life in?
Beginning any illustration involves very careful reading, to gather as much information as possible from the story and any other texts that may shine a light on it. Taking notes and sketching thumbnail drawings of all the pictures - because the work is always considered as a whole, rather than a series of individual pictures. Paying particular attention to the words that are going to be on the opposite page is very important, as I want the act of reading and looking at pictures to flow as harmoniously as possible.
Every picture and every project I do produces a large number of studies, working drawings, tracings and tangentially-related doodles, and this important part of the creative process comes into its own when working on a film adaptation. Following my work on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, I returned to New Zealand in 2008 to help design Peter Jackson’s version of The Hobbit. My normal reticence and reluctance to show too much is abandoned in these circumstances, as every detail has to be defined in order to be built, but that is also a tremendously satisfying process.
Q: We know that there will be some new contributions to this production that have not been seen in the past. Can you talk us through some of these new editions and is it still exciting after all these years when you get to make a new contribution to the world of Tolkien?
The Folio version of The Hobbit is based on the Harper Collins editions, but at a larger size, and with their usual high production standards, to match with the Folio edition of The Lord of the Rings, also containing my illustrations. It has a new cover and frontispiece illustrations, and I took the opportunity to re-do two of the illustrations – those showing the travellers passing through the lone-lands, before their encounter with the Trolls, and Bilbo’s meeting with Gollum.
James Rose of The Folio Society
Q: I know you probably can’t answer, but I simply have to ask…can we expect The Silmarillion or any other works in the future to go along with these last two productions?
We would love to carry on working closely with the Tolkien Estate (after all, it is a 48-year collaboration already) and we are indeed having conversations about where we might go next. All I can say is that the Folio/Tolkien relationship is far from over.
_________________________________________________
If you want to stay up to date on the details of this upcoming release which is scheduled for November 19th, sign up here.
This interview was done in a series of communications back and forth and we want to thank James Rose of the Folio Society and Alan Lee for the generosity of their time. If you want to keep up with the latest from Folio then you can check them out on their website to see some of their past and current productions. You can also follow them on Facebook or Instagram to stay up with all the incredible seasonal releases and limited editions.
Interview by: Zach Harney a co-founder of the Collectible Book Vault
*Since there are often different spellings in American English and British English of the same words, we have chosen to adhere to the spelling of the person who is speaking rather than conform to one convention for the whole interview.
