Here are a couple maps made to resemble the epic collaboration of JRR (oops, turns out it was Christopher) Tolkien and Pauline Baynes. The Oxford bookshop Blackwells put it on display and valued it at £60,000. Middle Earth Map Style This map style has been updated. He dictated the colours of the ships and the emblems on their sails: “Elven-ships small, white or grey … Numenorean (Gondor) Ships Black and Silver … Corsairs had red sails with black star or eye.”īaynes died in 2008, but the map was only rediscovered last year, tucked into a book she had owned. With 150 million copies sold, the book and map would go on to inspire a whole genre of fantasy writing, imagery and gaming culture. Since most were in his own invented Elvish language – spoken fluently by the many devoted fans – he helpfully translated some: “Eryn Vorn a forest region of dark trees.” This general map of Middle Earth is folded into the back of the first volume. Her poster map, published in 1970, was bordered with the first illustrations of Tolkien’s characters, but was based on the fold-out map in the first volumes of the 1954 Ring trilogy, which had been drawn by Tolkien’s son, Christopher, to his father’s meticulous instructions.īaynes tore the map out of her own copy and took it to Tolkien, who covered it with notes, including many extra place names that do not appear in the book.

Middle earth map