A George III style silver presentation mug, Edward Barnard & Sons Ltd., London 1939, inscribed to Russell Meiggs from the Keble College JCR 1939, approximately 527g

Russell Meiggs and thence by descent to the current owners.

Russell Meiggs (1902-1989) was a British ancient historian conducting extensive research on the Roman port city of Ostia. Meiggs was Fellow and Tutor in Ancient History and Praefectus of Holywell Manor, 1945 – 1969

Meiggs was additionally a friend of both C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and was instrumental in encouraging the publication of The Hobbit.

Tolkien doubted whether he should be writing such a book in his position as professor for Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. In a letter from Meiggs to Tolkien (now in the Bodleian Library) Meiggs writes

“ This is an unsolicited testimonial with no ulterior motives. I have just got back with Baggins and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It is grand fun, and quite absorbing….so guttily written, if I may be vulgar, and so free from cotton wool…..it solves the Christmas problem for a large number of god-children and it will increase my prestige with my sister’s youngest who is a discriminating and insatiable public….Quite honestly I think it is jolly good, and I hope people will recognise it. Commercially it should be published at the beginning of the Christmas books and pushed to save children from the sentimental saccharine that is so often foisted on them…If I were Sales Manager I think I could sell it in a big way.”