In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the wizard Gandalf produced this map from the folds of his robe. It would lead the willing dwarves and the unwilling hobbit on a magnificent journey of adventure and discovery. Written in mystic runes, this exact replica was inked by hand in five different colours on canvas. The canvas was first aged by hand to give it the appearance of an ancient document.

The "original" map has a portion that was written in "moon-letters" or Moon Runes. Elrond the elf tells us, "...you cannot see them, not when you look straight at them. They can only be seen when the moon shines behind them..."1 This replica does just that! When viewed straight on, a few moon-runes can barely be made on (see the above photo). But when back lit, the entire passage is clearly visible! (See the photo to the left) This was achieved by hand painting each letter in a matching colour to the parchment in acrylic paint. It is quite a neat effect.

The whole map was entirely drawn by hand, each rune being carefully drawn. This version of the map is ENTIRELY written in runes, transliterated from the original map. The red runes mark those that appear as runes in the original map. (If a translation or key is needed, I'll gladly provide them).

Above the Lonely Mountain is, as Balin points out, "a dragon marked in red,"2 that is, Smaug. And pointing away from the Grey Mountains and the Withered Heath is a gorgeous green dragon.




This map measures about 24" x 15" and looks great framed. This parchment could also be modified with two dowels on either end to tranform it into a scroll.

1 Tolkien, J.R.R., The Hobbit, p63.
2 ibid, p28.

"I am VERY impressed with it!!" -Jose Carrera