Through the Years

I've been collecting Tolkien memorabilia since early 2002, starting with my dad's old LOTR set and random pickings he found in used bookstores. And since then it has grown much more than I ever thought it would! So this post will be about my collection's journey over the last 12 years.

This is a photo of a photo because I am too lazy to get up and scan it. It was taken back in 2004 and I distinctly remember walking around in class with it and showing it off thinking I was such hot stuff. "Look at this, look what I have. You jealous?" I felt so cool but no one cared about my photo.

In 2004 I had:

• the extended edition of FOTR on VHS
• the LOTR Risk board game
• some newspaper clippings
• hardcover copy of The Hobbit (I lost the dust jacket a long time ago unfortunately)
• LOTR: FOTR chess set
• LOTR visual companions
• LOTR: TTT valentines
• Some card cets
• extended editions of FOTR and TTT on DVD
• goblets from Burger King
• only a few copies of LOTR
• some books on Tolkien
• and a Gollum action figure

Not bad for an 11 year old.

These next photos are from 2008 and in four years my collection pretty much took over my bookcase. I had a lot of action figures, majority of which I no longer have because I sold them years ago. Maybe one day I'll try and build up my action figure group. I kept the toys pretty organized but everything else was just thrown in.

This is from 2011, it looks so empty without all of the figures. Around this time, I wanted to move my non-Tolkien books into my bookcase so I tried to neatly pile everything into two shelves to free up some space. I think I did a good job, I mean if you ignore the fact that many things are blocked in the back.

In 2011 I convinced my dad to switch bookcases with me because I needed more space. I was so happy to finally get wider shelf space, and everything fit so well! And look at the Frodo plushie. Last summer I lost him because I thought it would be a good idea to bring him to NYC with me.

2013 was the year I added a second bookcase for my collection. I started accumulating things fast around this time, mostly because I discovered sites like abebooks.

This picture is crap quality but it's the best I can do right now. This is my collection at its current state. Books are stuffed in and there isn't much room left for additions. Action figures and other toys now have their own space which is nice, except Treebeard is forced to stand by himself on the top because he's too tall.

I wonder if my collection will end up looking different let's say...5 years from now. I'd move in a third bookcase but my room already has three. Two for Tolkien and one for all of my other books. Do I really need a bed in my bedroom?? It would clear a lot of space if I got rid of it for more books... but it is almost 11 pm and pillows and blankets do sound comforting right about now. Goodnight!