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Collectors
Corner Helpful Guides (below) |
How many are aware that J.R. Tolkien's entire fantasy world is actually to be found in West Cork? To be precise, in the tiny hamlet of Kilnamartyra, near Macroom. Because it is here, at the factory of Prince August, that the only authorised and authentic miniature reproductions of every single character from both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are created and then sent out to the furthest areas of the globe. It is the most magical place to visit if you, like countless others, have been hooked by these timeless stories of good and evil. Illuminated glass cases contain exquisite figures so tiny that you cannot imagine how their painter applied the bright colours so accurately. Huge dragons and loathsome spiders loom over dauntless little hobbits brandishing tiny swords, Black Riders peer menacingly from behind the black folds of their windswept robes. Perhaps some of the most delightful pieces are vignettes which illustrate specific events: Frodo Baggins imprisoned in the Barrow Downs, Goldberry surrounded by bowls of water lilies, or that fateful moment when Gandalf persuades Bilbo to leave The One Ring behind him, on the mantelpiece, as he sets out on his last journey. Every tiny detail, from the embroidery on a gown to the cup and plate on a table, is reproduced in perfect proportion. Prince August as a company has been in existence for over forty years. Founded by Jan Edman, father of Lars, the present owner, it had already built up an international reputation in its native Sweden, first for model railway accessories and then for miniature soldiers, before moving to Ireland in 1976. "This is the ideal place to live and work', says Lars. "No matter how hard the day has been, no matter what problems are thrown up, I have only to look out the window or go for a walk in the woods, and everything becomes alright again. The village is so tiny, it doesn't even appear on some maps!" (Lars has set up clear signs leading to his factory from the main Macroom - Killarney road). So much did he take to the Irish way of life, indeed, that he not only set up business here, he set up home as well, falling in love with and marrying an Irish girl. Today, although busier than ever, he and Margaret always try to get away for an hour or two together, several times in the week, and wander in the surrounding countryside, to talk over past progress and plans for the future. One particularly lovely example of Ireland's influence on Lars, and thus on the Company, is displayed in the beautiful Celtic Legend chess set. Prince August has long supplied both kit form and fully painted chess sets in a variety of designs - the American Civil War, the Field of the Cloth of gold, the Crusades and the Battle of Waterloo are best-sellers - but now a special limited edition illustrating the ancient legend of the Táin Bó Cuailgne is also on sale, the figures re [producing the colours and imagary of that stirring tale to perfection. They also have a range of figures illustrating other great names in Irish history - Brian Ború, Grainne OMalley the pirate queen, Hugh O'Neill, Robert Emmet - and of course Michael Collins too. Lars Edman has taken to his adopted country very deeply .
In 1987, while the business of model soldiers and chess sets was thriving, Lars was offered the opportunity to become the only authorised creator of figures to illustrate Tolken's much loved classic stories. A long-time fan of the books, he jumped at the chance and so Mithril Miniatures was born as a subsidiary of the main Company. Lars and Margaret both knew that with such internationally popular publications it was vital to get the figures as true to the original idea as possible. As a first step, they commissioned probably the world's most renowned designer of miniatures, Chris Tubb (also a Tolken fan), and brought him over to Ireland so that he could do his work actually on site. Perhaps not surprisingly, Chris too, found Kilnamarytra an inspiration - something which is very evident when one looks at the figures he created for the Mithril range. Virtually all the staff come from the village and surrounding area and the atmosphere is more like that of a big cheerful family than a workplace. In one case at least, home and work are completely blended. Eileen Kelleher, who has the delicate and skilful task of painting the tiny miniatures, often prefers to tackle this side of her job at home, spreading jars of colour and figures out on the kitchen table in her farm house and working on them peacefully for hours. "It's so relaxing. I'd rather be painting than doing anything else. I'd stay up half the night finishing a set. Sitting down there at the table you'd forget to wash the dishes after dinner. Hours disappear!" She recalls with amusement that when she was interviewed for the post, Lars asked her what sort of painting she had done before. "Well, I've painted the stairs at home" was her reply. Obviously he must have been satisfied with her skills, because she was taken on and now, after fourteen years, can't imagine working anywhere else. To see her dipping the slimmest of brushes - just a few hairs wide - into paint and applying it accurately to the face or the hand of a spontaneous admiration. Normally, the figures are supplied in kit form and purchasers like to paint their own according to their preferences. Mithril, however, keeps an example of every model made and painted so that customers can see what they will look like on completion. Sometimes, too Eileen will be asked to paint a set as a special order, Perhaps to be sent as a gift overseas. A great deal of the business is done overseas, particularly since the advent of the Internet. Avid collectors, as well as those seaching for unusual gifts, can now study mithril's fascinating web page and order on-line. The little post office in Kilnamartyra does a roaring trade in forwarding packages and cartons to all corners of the world. "We're probably half its business!" jokes Lars.
One of the nicest things about Prince August is that this is a factory, which welcomes visitors. Once you come through the doors and have exchanged greetings with the friendly receptionist, you are drawn almost as if by a magnet, to the subtly lit glass-fronted display cases in a long dim corridor. Here you can easily spend hours gazing in fascination at the hundreds of exquisitely painted samples of all the figures produced. Perhaps you are searching for one particular character who caught your imagination when you first read Tolkien's classics. Or with a delighted cry of recognition you discover one you had almost forgotten. Treebeard, for example, the calm and slow-moving Ent - and there he is, towering a full four inches high, frowning with concentration as he carefully clasps a hobbit in either branched arm. Shadowy, envious Gollum slips past at the back of the case. Thorin Oakenshield, lord of the dwarves, stands proud and arrogant. Orcs and Wild Wargs are caught in mid-charge. Eagles soar. Elven kings and queens dance. Shelob, surely the most hideous of nightmare giant spiders, threatens the tiny Frodo. Of course Gandalf is there, the allwise and powerful wizard who sets Bilbo on his adventures in the first place, and always turns up in the nick of time to rescue the wanderers. They're all there, just as you imagined them. It's only when you finally leave, clutching your precious packages with the promise of many an enchanted evening ahead assembling and painting, that you look around at the countryside and see it with new eyes. Because surely this peaceful part of West Cork actually is Middle Earth. Somehow, even if Tolkien did not actually have the landscape of Kilnamartyra and its surrounds in mind when he wrote the books, then both Lars Edman and designer Chris Tubb were surely inspired by its scenery. This could be the very Shire where life has continued its pleasant way for centuries and which Frodo and his companions must now strive to protect against the growing shadow of evil from the land of Mordor. There are the little tilled fields, the hedges and the winding lanes.
There are the welcoming inns that old Gaffer surely must frequent. Green woodlands where elves might well be encountered at dusk, Shallow fords across chuckling rivers where a safe crossing might be made by weary hobbits and heavily laden ponies. And the world outside the Shires is there too. Frodo met danger on the Barrow Downs with their standing stones, and on the hill above Kilnamartyra just such a stone stands aloof and alone. Ruined Carrigaphooka Castle, looming gaunt against the sky, is straight out of Mordor. Lough Allua with its crannóg, could be the original of Lake Town. The strange and mysterious Gearagh with its drowned prehistoric forest must surely have served as the original of the marsh crossed by the Ring Bearers. Even the flickering lights described by Tolkien dancing over that marsh have their origin in the Irish 'will-o-the-wisps' - the fairy lures which lead unwary travellers out of their way. (The more prosaic explanation of marsh gas doesn't sound half so romantic!). The road from Macroom 'goes ever on' just as it did in Tolkien's original, sweeping up and over the hills to the Kerry border. Not far away, whenever you lift your eyes, is the faint blue outline of Macgillicuddy's Reeks - uncannily like the peaks described by Gandalf and the dwarves to the fascinated Bilbo at his fireside, that first fateful night. Indeed, with the magical figures in your hands, it is not difficult to imagine yourself one of that company, preparing set forth on their dangerous adventure:
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Mithril Classics Handbook & FREE Catalogue. Our Handbook contains 18 full colour pages containing photographs and descriptions of the Mithril Classics range and our boxed sets. More info |
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Mithril GOLD STATUS Fellowship - Most Exclusive LOTR Club in the World. Join Now 5 x Copies of Tengwar magazine |
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Mithril Miniatures, Kilnamartyra, Macroom, Co. Cork, Ireland
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The
Watcher logo, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and the names
of the characters, events, items and places therein, are trademarks
of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises under license
to Mithril Miniatures since 1987.