J.R.R. Tolkien’s Estate Releases A Treasure Trove Of Drawings, Maps, And More

Published March 22, 2022
Updated March 28, 2025

The Tolkien estate's website includes drawings by J.R.R. Tolkien of the worlds he created for "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings."

Misty Mountains

Courtesy of the Tolkien EstateAn undated depiction of the “Misty Mountains,” a location that’s featured prominently in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

In his life, J.R.R. Tolkien created the elaborate world of “Middle-earth,” where he set The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Now, his estate has released a number of drawings and maps that the author made as he plotted out his books.

The images, housed on the Tolkien estate’s updated website, include intricately drawn scenes from Tolkien’s work. Viewers can see how the mines of Moria, the forest of Lothlórien, and the elven city of Rivendell appeared in Tolkien’s mind.

In a nod to The Lord of the Rings fans, the website went live on Feb. 26 — the date, according to a statement emailed to Smithsonian magazine, “in the Third Age when the Fellowship of the Ring was broken at Amon Hen and Frodo and Sam set out on their lonely and terrifying journey to Mordor.”

The website also includes maps that Tolkien drew to better understand the movement of his characters; examples of his calligraphy; documents, photos, and audio clips from his life; and a draft manuscript of The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son (1953). Some of these documents have never been seen before.

One Ring Words
Hobbiton Across The Water
Conversations With Smaug
Gates Of Moria
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Estate Releases A Treasure Trove Of Drawings, Maps, And More
View Gallery

Born John Ronald Reuel Tolkien on Jan. 3, 1892, in South Africa, J.R.R. Tolkien lived a rich and sometimes tragic life. After moving to England as a young boy, he went on to study at King Edward's School in Birmingham and Exeter College in Oxford before serving in the British Army during World War I.

He saw action during the bloody Battle of the Somme, in which more than 125,000 young British soldiers lost their lives. Two of them — Robert Gilson and Ralph Payton — were Tolkien's friends.

"Junior officers were being killed off, a dozen a minute," Tolkien wrote of his experience.

But he long resisted the idea that his books, especially the battle-heavy scenes of The Lord of the Rings, had anything pointed to say about World War I or World War II. In the foreword for the second edition of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien wrote, "As for any inner meaning or 'message,' it has in the intention of the author none. It is neither allegorical nor topical."

Death Of Smaug

Courtesy of the Tolkien EstateJ.R.R. Tolkien did not intend this rough sketch from 1936, entitled "Death of Smaug," to be published, but it was later used for a paperback edition of The Hobbit in 1966.

Indeed, Tolkien seemed to draw from a wealth of sources beyond his own experience. As a professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford after the war, he translated texts like Beowolf to great acclaim. And he came up with stories like The Hobbit simply to entertain his four children.

Regardless of his motivations, however, Tolkien succeeded in writing books that have enchanted the world for decades. More than 150 million copies of the Lord of The Rings trilogy have been sold, and the books were also adapted into a successful film franchise in 2001.


After looking through these J.R.R. Tolkien drawings, look through these incredible history maps that explain the world better than any textbook. Or look at these fantastic real-life Hobbit homes.

author
Kaleena Fraga
author
A senior staff writer for All That's Interesting since 2021 and co-host of the History Uncovered Podcast, Kaleena Fraga graduated with a dual degree in American History and French Language and Literature from Oberlin College. She previously ran the presidential history blog History First, and has had work published in The Washington Post, Gastro Obscura, and elsewhere. She has published more than 1,200 pieces on topics including history and archaeology. She is based in Brooklyn, New York.
editor
Cara Johnson
editor
A writer and editor based in Charleston, South Carolina and an editor at All That's Interesting since 2022, Cara Johnson holds a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from Washington & Lee University and an M.A. in English from College of Charleston. She has worked for various publications ranging from wedding magazines to Shakespearean literary journals in her nine-year career, including work with Arbordale Publishing and Gulfstream Communications.
Citation copied
COPY
Cite This Article
Fraga, Kaleena. "J.R.R. Tolkien’s Estate Releases A Treasure Trove Of Drawings, Maps, And More." AllThatsInteresting.com, March 22, 2022, https://allthatsinteresting.com/jrr-tolkien-drawings. Accessed July 30, 2025.