The Black Pine Collection – Tolkien’s favourite tree staging another comeback (of sorts)
If you happen to know me a little – or this blog – then you do know that I am probably the Tolkienist in the world who has written most about Tolkien’s favourite tree in the last decade or so after the Pinus Nigra had to be felled. Why this had to happen you can read here.
For those of you who do not know why I and other Tolkien fans across the globe are so fascinated by this – the Pinus Nigra at the Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum was Tolkien’s ‘favourite tree’, a fact corroborated by the very last photo taken of him alive on August 9, 1973, beside this very tree that he had nicknamed ‘Laocoon.’
It was made clear at the time that the wood of the tree would be used in a then undetermined future for projects with a Tolkien and/ or OXBGA connection. As no time frame was given fans had to be patient – but it certainly paid off, in one way or another!
One of the first major developments was that for the garden’s 400th anniversary a few things would happen – I posted on this on Linkedin but this was only part of my report at the time that had appeared first with my Patreon. In fact, it was one of my first ever posts on crowdfunding (I have, since then, moved to Steady.)
Another of my post is now of historical value – thanks to a change in company development the Oxford Artisan Distillery no longer exists so a lot of the material on this particular whisky no longer exists, except for my blog and with the Web Archive.
I even broke the news of the design illustration for both the whisky and the most recent project, the Black Pine Collection, to my supporters on Patreon being done by Stanley Donwood (paywall), famous for doing the Radiohead album cover art. The Sylvia Foundation in Oxford did the “woodwork.”
My posts on the Pinus Nigra with Steady
Patreon World Exclusive: News on Tolkien’s favourite tree, the Pinus Nigra
Patreon World Exclusive II: The Return of the Pinus Nigra – ahem, in a way, you know?
My 50th: Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum (Pinus Nigra revisited)
My 50th: Find Waldo, or rather, the re-planted Pinus Nigra
The Black Pine Collection – out now
Now, two years later, the Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum is offering this collection to visitors in their on-site shop. It was first shown at this year’s Christmas Fair (Dec 6-7) and the ten items are:
Cufflinks, Writers’ Boxes, Paper Weights, Letter Racks, Pen Pots, Pen Trays, Coasters, Bookmarks, Fern and Acorn Decorations. Prices range from £20 to £145. All products come with a limited-edition letterpress authentication booklet created in collaboration with the Oxford-based printer Richard Lawrence.
Press release
All of the items are limited, obviously.
- Cufflinks x 100
- Writers box with letterpress note cards x 23
- Letter racks x 100
- Coasters x 200
- Pen pots x 100
- Pen trays x 100
- Paper weights x 100
- Cone decorations x 400
- Fern decorations x 400
- Bookmarks x 400
All images by kind permission: (c) Oxford Botanic Garden, University of Oxford.
My thanks go out to David Charlton for making me aware of this project and to Martin Smith who so kindly managed to go to the Christmas Fair to take these photos.
The price list
Facebook plea for help – and my win!
I had asked with Facebook whether someone would be at the Christmas Fair to take photos and maybe even buy something for me. As on other occasions Martin kindly enough agreed to visit – surely also because as a a Tolkien fan who wanted to visit himself, but still, thank you so much for doing thi! – and sent me these two photos. And yes, I may have asked him to buy a bookmark! (That was all I could afford.)
A few days later Ox in a Box, a social media channel and website doing a Christmas calendar give away, also had the cufflinks in their raffle… AND I WON! 😭
I cried for quite a bit and will be getting the cufflinks early in the new year! So I do have to get a tailored shirt!
Go and visit the Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum
It is a magical place and as I am an avid supporter of GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) as well as botanic gardens – I got married in one! – I can only highly suggest you get to Oxford asap. And buy some items from this amazing collection!
I was there…
Taken on Sept 27, 2008, by my former wife. At the same spot Tolkien stood.
