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Museum-Quality Matte Paper Print available in two sizes:
12" x 16" (30cm x 40cm): $35.00
24" x 32" (60cm x 80cm): $48.00
"Not the man that used to make such particularly excellent fireworks! I remember those! Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve. Splendid! They used to go up like great lilies and snapdragons and laburnums of fire and hang in the twilight all evening!" - The Hobbit, Chapter 1: An Unexpected Party
When Gandalf appears on The Hill at the beginning of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Bilbo suddenly warms to the memory of having seen the Wandering Wizard’s fireworks at the Old Took’s Midsummer celebrations long before. If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing one of Gandalf’s fireworks displays yourself, a print of this original, hand-done painting could be the closest you can come.
Details to notice in this Tolkien-inspired art print:
It is 1301 of the Shire Reckoning, and eleven-year-old Bilbo frolics with a sparkler in the dooryard of Great Smials.
The even smaller hobbit lad is Bilbo’s cousin, 7-year-old Drogo, who will grow up to become the father of Frodo.
The Old Took (Bilbo’s grandfather) is seated in the porch of Great Smials with his wife Adamanta.
The “Three Remarkable Daughters” of the Old Took cluster around their parents. Bilbo's mother, Belladonna, aged 49, stands at left next to her sisters, Donnamira and Mirabella, the latter of whom will become Frodo's grandmother.
Bilbo's father, Bungo, whom he is said to closely resemble, sits on the edge of the porch, eyeing the spectacle with a mixture of enjoyment and reserve.
The crowd on the lawn is made up of Tooks and Chubbs, and perhaps a few Brandybucks and Bolgers.
All the hobbits are dressed a bit differently than usual for this special occasion, in soft white linen, the feast day being such a very ancient one.
Gandalf’s fireworks are splendid, filling the evening sky with sparkling butterflies and floating, scented flowers of silver and gold, just like the ones he will create a century later for Bilbo’s great birthday party.
This rare scene from hobbit history glimpses both the comfort Gandalf found in the company of the merry hobbits on his long wanderings, and also of the way in which certain special hobbits are drawn to the great “Secret Fire” of which Gandalf is the Servant. Gandalf fills the Tookland with beautiful light and little Bilbo and Drogo twinkle back at him in answer with their small sparklers. It is a scene worth remembering!
Bring home a print as a celebration of the unforgettable genius of Professor Tolkien’s shining words. It will turn any corner into an utterly enchanting hobbit party.