Den Oldnorske og Oldislandske Litteraturs Historie, by Finnur Jónsson, signed by J.R.R. Tolkien

Each volume is signed twice by J.R.R. Tolkien; once on the front pastedown in ink and once on the verso of the front free end paper in pencil

Den Oldnorske og Oldislandske Litteraturs Historie, by Finnur Jónsson. Second edition. Copenhagen: G.E.C. Gads Forlag, 1920–24.
Three volumes (bound in two) in contemporary calf. Each volume is signed twice by J.R.R. Tolkien; once on the front pastedown and once on the verso of the front free end paper.

Finnur Jónsson (1858–1934) was an Icelandic philologist who made extensive contributions to the study of Old Norse literature.
Finnur's principal area of study was Old Norse poetry. His third principal work is Den oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie, a detailed history of Old Norse literature.

Finnur was an unusually prolific scholar, preparing editions of, among other works, numerous Icelanders' sagas, kings' sagas, rímur (along with a dictionary of rímur) and the Eddas. A skilled polemicist, he defended his belief in the historical accuracy of the sagas and the antiquity of the Eddic poems in debates with other scholars.

Three volumes bound in two, in brown leather with patterned boards and matching endpapers, raised bands and gilt spine lettering. The spines are numbered I and II–III. Volume I is dated 1920, volume II 1923 and volume III 1924.
Each physical volume is signed twice by Tolkien: in ink on the patterned front pastedown and in pencil on a preliminary leaf. Additional pencil identification notes are present and are not attributed to Tolkien.
The bindings show rubbing, scratches and scuffs, with wear at the joints, raised bands, corners and spine ends. The paper is toned with scattered foxing, particularly on the preliminary leaves.
Both volumes retain Blackwell's Oxford bookseller labels. Pencil marginalia are recorded in the original catalogue as Tolkien's.

A loose Osram advertising leaflet for Hill, Upton & Co., George Street, Oxford, is photographed between the pages. It may have served as a bookmark, but its presence alone does not establish who placed it there or when.

A twice-signed pair of scholarly volumes from Tolkien's library, devoted to Old Norse and Old Icelandic literature.

Digital photographs available; enquire if interested.

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