- "…on June the Twenty-second Messrs Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes would sell by auction the effects of the late Bilbo Baggins Esquire, of Bag-End, Underhill, Hobbiton."
- —The Hobbit, "The Last Stage"
Messrs Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes was a notary business firm of auctioneers[1] and lawyers[2] which operated in the Westfarthing[citation needed] of the Shire.[3]
History[]
At exactly 10:00 am on June 22 in the year 2942 of the late Third Age, Messrs Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes conducted the Sale of Bilbo Baggins' estate and belongings from Bag End, Under-Hill after the hobbit was Presumed Dead.[3] The firm was aided by Hamfast Gamgee, the apprentice of Holman Greenhand, who was tasked with preventing the garden from being trampled on by buyers.[4] They sold many of Bilbo's possessions "for various prices from next to nothing to old songs" as was usual at auctions.[3]
When it became "nearly lunchtime" and most of the items were already sold, the auctioneers and the many buyers were met much to their surprise with the unexpected return of Bilbo after his participation in the Quest of Erebor.[3] It took several years of legal wrangling for Bilbo to convince Messrs Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes to acknowledge that he was indeed actually alive. Despite this, however, Bilbo was still forced to buy most of his belongings back during that time.[3]
Etymology[]
Messrs is a plural version of Mr. the word is derived from the French word messieurs, which is a plural form of monsieur ("mister").
In other versions[]
In the early drafts of The Hobbit, the notary firm at the Sale was unnamed.[5] In an earlier draft of the first chapter of The Lord of the Rings, Messrs Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes ejected Sancho Proudfoot from Bag End rather than Frodo Baggins in the published text.[2][6] In a slight revision to this early draft, Tolkien changed the firm's name (and members) to Messrs. Iago Grubb and Folco Burrowes before deciding to just have Frodo eject Sancho himself instead of his lawyers.[2] It is untold whether Tolkien abandoned the name or if he only abandoned the idea of them ejecting Sancho.
In adaptations[]
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies[]
Tosser Grubb, a representative of Messrs grubb, grubb and Burrowes.
In the third film of Peter Jackson's film trilogy, Messrs grubb, grubb and Burrowes were "Registered Auctioneers" whose representative, Tosser Grubb (portrayed by Mervyn Charles Smith, a New Zealand actor), orchestrated the Sale of the estate of Bilbo Baggins. One significant difference is that the "legal bother"[3] that occurred over the course of years in the book took place the very day as the Sale. When Tosser Grubb demanded proof of Bilbo's identity, the hobbit produced the contract given to him by Thorin and Company over a year earlier. The matter was settled in that moment by Bilbo's answer when Tosser asked him who Thorin Oakenshield was.
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, pg. 260
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. VI: The Return of the Shadow, The First Phase, I: "A Long-Expected Party", (iii) "The Third Version", pgs. 33, 36
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 The Hobbit, Ch. XIX: "The Last Stage", pgs. 313-4
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Ch. I: "A Long-expected Party", pgs. 31-2
- ↑ The History of The Hobbit: Mr Baggins and Return to Bag-End, The Third Phase, XIX: "The End of the Journey", pgs. 690-1, note 15
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Ch. I: "A Long-expected Party", pg. 48