THE COMPLEAT GYDE TO TOLKIEN CALENDARS

YEAR	Publisher/ISBN/Notes	Link
1981	Ballantine Books ISBN: 345-28890-4 “The Great Illustrators Edition.” Illustrations by five artists. Dimensions: 13 x 12.25 inches (w x h); stapled; punched hanging hole; shrink-wrapped. Rarity: 4 Common on eBay. Possible to find mint copies (in original shrinkwrap):8.
1981	Ballantine Books ISBN: 0-345-29191-3 “The 1981 J.R.R. Tolkien Desk Calendar.” Illustrations by the Brothers Hildebrandt (previously published in the calendars noted above). Dimensions: 8 3/8 x 8 inches (w x h); plastic comb-bound. Rarity: 8 May appear on ebay only once or twice a year.
1981	Methuen Publications (Agincourt, ON, Canada) ISBN: 458 946109 VARIANT: “The 1981 J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar – The Lord of the Rings - To Honor the Silver Anniversary.” Illustrations by Paul Rivoche loosely based on images from the Ralph Bakshi film. Dimensions: 13 x 11.75 inches (w x h); stapled; punched hanging hole; glossy white, medium-weight paperboard sleeve; shrink-wrapped (Technically, it's not a flexible, plastic shrinkwrap. The wrap is cellophane-like and rather brittle. It is therefore difficult to find one still in the wrap because of its age and the fact that the cellophane splits because of its brittleness). Rarity: 8 May appear on ebay only once or twice a year; usually in the original sleeve. One must confirm the ISBN to distinguish it from the Tolkien Enterprises issue (see entry below). Still shrink-wrapped: 10.
1981	Steve Pillinger "Shire Calendar 1981". Steve Pillinger, UK. Three versions exist: A3 size, color; A3 size, black and white; A4 size, black and white. Rarity: 9 May appear on ebay only once a year.
1981	Tolkien Enterprises ISBN: 0-9690890-15 “The 1981 J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar – The Lord of the Rings - To Honor the Silver Anniversary.” Illustrations by Paul Rivoche loosely based on images from the Ralph Bakshi film. Dimensions: 13 x 11.75 inches (w x h); stapled; punched hanging hole; glossy white, medium-weight paperboard sleeve; shrink-wrapped (cellophane-like; same comments as for the Methuen issue above). Rarity: 6 May appear on ebay once/month; usually in the original sleeve. Still shrink-wrapped: 10.
1982	Ballantine Books (Random House) ISBN: 0-345-29374-6 Illustrations by Darrell K. Sweet. Dimensions: 13 x 12.25 inches (w x h); stapled; punched hanging hole; shrink-wrapped. Rarity: 4 Common on eBay. Possible to find mint copies (in original shrinkwrap):8.
1982	Steve Pillinger "Shire Calendar 1982". O.S. Pillinger, UK. Two versions: A4 size, A3 (297 x 420 mm) size (shown here); both in black and white. Rarity: 9 Unknown how many were made; the few that I know of are in the hands of collectors or Marquette University.
1983	Antioch Publishing Company ISBN: 0-89954-107-0 "1983 Fantasy Calendar". Color illustration. Dimensions: 5.75 x 5.75 inches (w x h); stapled; mailer. The ONLY Tolkien-related calendar issued in 1983. Even then, only a single illustration pertains (July: "Gandalf's Visit" by Sylvia Thomas). Rarity: 10 Has appeared on eBay once in the last three years.
1984	Ballantine Books (Random House) ISBN: 0-345-31086-1 NOTES: Illustrations by Roger Garland. Dimensions: 11.5 x 12 inches (w x h); stapled; punched hanging hole; shrink-wrapped. Rarity: 4 Common on eBay. Possible to find mint copies (in original shrinkwrap):8.
1984	Friends of the Earth (New Zealand) Ltd. ISBN: "Unspoiled Earth 1984". Photos by Barney Brewster. New Zealand locales reminiscent of Tolkien scenes with Tolkien titles. Rarity: 9? Unknown number produced. Has not appeared on eBay. I know of two copies of it.
1984	Methuen (Agincourt, ON, Canada) ISBN: 0-458-96200-7 VARIANT: "The J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar 1984". Cover: “Ulmo, Lord of the Waters.” Illustrations by Roger Garland. Printed by McLaren Morris & Todd Ltd., Toronto. Dimensions: 11 3/4 x 16 1/2 inches (w x h); wire bound; heavy wire hanging loop; light-weight, white paper envelope. Rarity: 9 Have seen only two on eBay (one with, one without its envelope).
1984	Norge Tolkien Forening "Arthedainkalenderen.1 1984". Single page insert into the the November 1983 issue of "Angerthas 9", fanzine of Arthedain, Norge Tolkien Forening. Gregorian, Shire, and Imladris reckonings. For those not fluent in Norwegian, read Varnafindë's translation of it. Dimensions: 11 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches (w x h). Rarity: 10
1984	Unwin Paperbacks (London) ISBN: 0-045-29007-5 "The J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar 1984". Cover: “Ulmo, Lord of the Waters.” Illustrations by Roger Garland. Dimensions: 12 x 16.5 inches (w x h); wire bound; heavy wire hanging loop; medium-weight paperboard mailer/envelope printed with theme similar to the cover of the calendar. Rarity: 7 Appears less than once/month on eBay.