Fantasy find: Worker discovers Tolkien postcard

A DEMOLITION worker was celebrating after discovering a postcard sent to JRR Tolkien hidden behind a fireplace in the renowned author’s former home.

The postcard depicts a landscape in Cork and is dated 1968, and is addressed to the Lord of the Rings author at the Miramar Hotel, Bournemouth, where he and his wife spent many holidays.

The postcard is signed “Lin”, believed to be fantasy author Lin Carter, who wrote A Look Behind the Lord of the Rings, published in 1969.

Stephen Malton made the discovery while unscrewing the fireplace at the author’s bungalow in Poole, Dorset, before the bulldozers moved in.

He hopes to sell the postcard for a small fortune.

The 42-year-old is hoping to sell the fireplace, the postcard, a bronze fairy and a stone gryphon found in the garden, at auction and make about £500,000 (€630,000).

Mr Malton, who owns Bournemouth-based ProDem Demolition, said: “I have been doing this [work] for 15 years; my father did it for 40 years before me. All of a sudden for this to land in your lap is just quite unbelievable.”

Fans of the author, whose initials stand for John Ronald Reuel, are upset at the demolition of the three-bedroom bungalow on Lakeside Road where Tolkien retired with his wife, Edith, in 1968.

Mr Malton said: “You could have knocked me down with a feather. To find something with the Tolkien name on it is quite amazing.

“We have looked under the floors — if we find a Hobbit that will be the icing on the cake.”

The postcard mentions Co Cork seascapes and hedgerows, as well as walking and driving in the countryside. It reads: “I have been thinking of you a lot and hope everything has gone as well as could be expected in the most difficult circumstances.”

Tolkien died on a visit to Bournemouth in 1973.