Lord Of The Rings author JRR Tolkien’s desk up for auction

Tolkien used the desk during his tenure as Merton professor of English language and literature at Oxford between 1945 and 1959.

A desk used by Lord Of The Rings author JRR Tolkien is set to be auctioned in London.

The author’s mid-Victorian roll-top mahogany and satinwood desk will be offered at Christie’s on December 11 with a guide price of £50,000 to £80,000.

Tolkien used the desk during his tenure as Merton professor of English language and literature at Oxford between 1945 and 1959.

In this period he worked on the correspondence and proofing of his classic fantasy The Lord Of The Rings, and experts say the desk was likely to have been used during the final stages of revision.

The desk later moved with him to Headington, Oxford, before it was passed to novelist Dame Iris Murdoch.