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A Map of Middle-earth

"A Map of Middle-earth" is the name of two colour posters by different artists, Barbara Remington and Pauline Baynes. They depict the north-western region of the fictional continent of Middle-earth. They were published in 1965 and 1970 by the American and British publishers of J. R. R. Tolkien's book The Lord of the Rings. The poster map by Pauline Baynes has been described as "iconic".^[1]

All maps of Middle-earth derive ultimately from J. R. R. Tolkien's own working maps, which he constantly annotated over the years, whether in English or in Elvish. He was unable to find the time to bring them into a presentable state in time for the publication of The Lord of the Rings.^[2][3] The task was delegated to his son Christopher.^[3] Neither of the maps known as "A Map of Middle-earth" cover the whole continent of Middle-earth; instead they portray the north-western region of that continent at the end of the Third Age, where the story of The Lord of the Rings takes place.

Jonathan Crowe, writing on TOR.com, describes Christopher Tolkien's cartography as hugely influential on fantasy literature, setting the norm for "epic fantasy novels" which "were supposed to come with maps".^[3]

The earlier poster, signed "BRem" (Barbara Remington), was published in 1965 by Ballantine Books.^[4] It features border images adapted from Remington's cover designs for the 1965 Ballantine paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings. Remington had not read the novel before designing the cover illustrations.^[5]

The second version, by Pauline Baynes, was published in 1970 by George Allen & Unwin^[6] in the UK and Ballantine Books in the USA. It features ten small inset illustrations of important locations from the story. The poster is framed at the top by a row of nine figures representing the members of the "Fellowship of the Ring" setting out on their quest. At the bottom is an array of antagonists from the novel, including the nine Black Riders, Gollum, Shelob, and various Orcs. The poster has become iconic.^[1] Tolkien liked Baynes's illustrative style to an extent, but felt that it was too decorative to be used directly to illustrate the narrative of The Lord of the Rings.^[7][8] He was however pleased with at least some of her vignettes on the poster map.^[9]

Baynes's poster map helped to make the capital letter-only Uncial script the standard for Middle-earth maps.^[3]

• Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (2023) [1981]. The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien Revised and Expanded Edition. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-35-865298-4.
• Hammond, Wayne G.; Scull, Christina (2006b). The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Reader's Guide. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-007-14918-2.

• Map of Middle-earth, showing the movements of characters from both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series by Peter Jackson
• In the Beginning was the Word: How Medieval Text Became Fantasy Maps tracing the roots of Tolkien's mapping influences to medieval prefatory textual practices.