Not since "Star Wars" has the film industry been energized by a trilogy
like it has been for "The Lord of the Rings". The first part, "The Fellowship
of the Ring", was released to glowing reviews and record-breaking box office
in December, 2001 and parts Two and Three continued to break records in the same manner.
First editions of the original books as well as contemporary merchandise
related to the film are hot items on the secondary market.
At the turn of the Millennium, "The Lord of the Rings" was chosen
by thousands of readers as the best book ever written. It's author, John
Ronald Reuel Tolkien, was born in South Africa in 1892. His family moved
to England in 1895 and he never returned to his homeland. Tolkien pursued
an academic life when he reached adulthood. He loved language and mythology,
specializing in linguistics.
During WWI, he served with the Lancashire Fusiliers
in France, but was sent home with trench fever in 1915. During his convalescence,
he began to write poems and short stories about his life in the trenches,
living underground in holes and huts. When he was discharged in 1918, Tolkien
was employed as a lexicographer, helping to compile what would become the
first edition of the "Oxford English Dictionary". Then in 1925, he became
a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University. He remained with the university
until his retirement in 1959.
During the early 1930's, he began to work on his first success,
a children's book entitled "The Hobbit", which was published in 1937.
It sold well, and his publisher asked for another book about Hobbits. 
Pictured right:: Fossil Watch featuring the Witch King on the dial and is packaged in a resin mould of the Witch King's head.
The Film
Not unlike the original publisher of the books, New Line Cinema has
taken an enormous risk by financing the production of all three films in
one stroke. At a total cost of $300 million - a financial hole that may sink
the company if the project fails - it's not surprising that there is an
army of ancillary products to bolster the bottom line.
There are action figures
from ToyBiz; busts from Sideshow; toys from Burger King; posters, trading
cards, ceramic mugs, ornaments - even a special edition DVD player. Check
out the New Line Cinema
online store for all the latest offerings. If you're a "Lord of the Rings"
fan, there's a bonanza of collectibles out there.
