Unlike The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings did not had illustrations. In this book, you’ll read and see the many different illustrations, sketches, and notes that J.R.R. Tolkien drew and wrote pertaining to The Lord of The Rings. A significant amount of his original unpublished illustrations were related to maps and the geography of Middle-Earth. Having read The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, and as of the time of this writing, halfway through The War of The Ring. Practically, all of the illustrations have been already been thoroughly analyzed and explain by Christopher Tolkien as part of The Complete History of Middle-Earth series. However this art book takes a different approach, the authors give out a brief description of the illustrations and in some occasions, small excerpts of the The Complete History of Middle-Earth that belonged to illustration. Showcasing how Tolkien’s illustration talent helped him to beautifully describe and add the overwhelmly details to his writings.

Not all the illustrations are complete drawings, instead you’ll get to see and read how Tolkien sketched the visions he had in mine when writing The Lord of The Rings.

In addition to maps and Middle-Earth geography, this art book also has different Elvish scripts, the Book of Mazarbul, and the different book covers that Tolkien drew.