Arthur R. Tolkien – Signed Bank of Africa Postcard, 1895

A postcard signed by J.R.R. Tolkien's father in his capacity as bank manager in Bloemfontein.

This is Arthur Tolkien's signature, not J.R.R. Tolkien's.

J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was born in Bloemfontein, Republic of the Orange Free State (OFS) on 3 January 1892.
Little is known about his first three years in the OFS, except that his father was already the Manager of the Bank of Africa in Bloemfontein when his wife-to-be, Mabel Suffield, relocated from Birmingham (UK) to South Africa in 1891. Upon arrival in Cape Town, they married on 16 April 1891 in Cape Town Cathedral in British Colonial Cape of Good Hope.

After marriage they settled in Bloemfontein, with AR Tolkien resuming his duties as Manager of the Bank of Africa.

Arthur signed this postcard as A.R. Tolkien, Manager, in January 1895. It is apparently dated 17 January and is addressed to M. Rozendorff Esq. in Edenburg. The handwritten day is not entirely clear: the text appears to acknowledge correspondence of the 16th, which supports a reading of the 17th rather than the previously recorded 14th. The postcard was sent by the Bank of Africa Limited and postmarked 18 January 1895.

Postmarked BLOEMFONTEIN, 18 JA 95, O.V.S. Arrival strike EDENBURG JA 18 95, ?. It bears a small half penny stamp from Oranje Vrij Staat - stamped with the words " Vrijheid, Geduld en moed, Immigratie".

Cards with the autograph of tolkien's father are very rare and seldom do they come on the market.

The card has light age-toning, postal cancellations and pencil annotations, including an identification of the signature at the upper right.

A distinctive Tolkien family document, signed by the author's father in the course of his banking work.

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