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THE LORD OF THE RINGS: The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King
by Tolkien, J.R.R
- Used
- first
- Condition
- Near fine in near fine jackets.
- Seller
-
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Boston / Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Company / The Riverside Press, 1967. First printings (stated) all; first edition thus. Near fine in near fine jackets.. Handsome set of the first printings (all) of the second US edition of the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, comprising THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE TWO TOWERS, and THE RETURN OF THE KING - all review copies. Tolkien's Middle Earth grew not only from his experiences in World War I and studies as a professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford, but from his childhood hobby of constructed languages (conlangs). Tolkien argued in his essay "A Secret Vice" that "for perfect construction of an art-language it is found necessary to construct at least in outline a mythology" along with it. In other words, "your language construction will breed a mythology." Middle Earth sprang into being in part so that Tolkien could draw on a mature culture, history, and mythology for his beloved conlangs. As a result, we have Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam; Gandalf the Grey, and Aragorn who is Strider; the One Ring, the covetous Gollum, and a harrowing journey to Mount Doom.
Houghton published the first US editions of the trilogy from 1954-1956. This second US edition follows closely the second UK from Allen & Unwin of the previous year, which was heavily revised and corrected by the author. These books, marketed as the "Revised Edition" and including a new foreword by Tolkien, were issued both as individual volumes (as here) and a slipcased set. A complete set of review copies is rare. 3 volumes, measuring 8.78'' x 5.5''. Original publisher's full black gilt-stamped cloth all. In original unclipped ($6.00) color pictorial dust jackets all. Jackets and label designed by Robert Quackenbush. 424, 452, and 440 pages respectively, with all folding maps (by Tolkien's son Christopher) present. Maps are unfolded, intact, and in fine condition. Houghton Mifflin review slips loosely laid into each volume. Touches of wear to spine tips, extremities of jackets. Spines evenly sunned. Some toning to top edges of jacket flaps. Cloth worn a bit here and there. Overall: a clean, sound set.
Houghton published the first US editions of the trilogy from 1954-1956. This second US edition follows closely the second UK from Allen & Unwin of the previous year, which was heavily revised and corrected by the author. These books, marketed as the "Revised Edition" and including a new foreword by Tolkien, were issued both as individual volumes (as here) and a slipcased set. A complete set of review copies is rare. 3 volumes, measuring 8.78'' x 5.5''. Original publisher's full black gilt-stamped cloth all. In original unclipped ($6.00) color pictorial dust jackets all. Jackets and label designed by Robert Quackenbush. 424, 452, and 440 pages respectively, with all folding maps (by Tolkien's son Christopher) present. Maps are unfolded, intact, and in fine condition. Houghton Mifflin review slips loosely laid into each volume. Touches of wear to spine tips, extremities of jackets. Spines evenly sunned. Some toning to top edges of jacket flaps. Cloth worn a bit here and there. Overall: a clean, sound set.
Synopsis
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by philologist and Oxford University professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit (1937), but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1954, much of it during World War II. After the success of The Hobbit , Tolkien’s publisher asked that he produce a sequel. Although written as one big work comprised of six books, The Lord of the Rings was broken into three separate volumes because of post-World War II paper shortages and size and price considerations. The print run of the first editions was very small: 3,000 copies for The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), 3,250 copies for The Two Towers (1954), and 7,000 copies for The Return of the King (1955). The Lord of the Rings went on to become one of the best-selling novels ever, with more than 150 million copies sold.
Reviews
On Aug 15 2020, a reader said:
This is one of the most engaging, enjoyable, and creative books I have ever read. The way Tolkien creates a new world from scratch, new languages, new races. It is a work of art. And the fact that this book can be enjoyed by young children and adults alike makes it stand out among the works of fiction that fill our libraries these days. I would recommend these books to anyone who has not already read them.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Type Punch Matrix
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 51325
- Title
- THE LORD OF THE RINGS: The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King
- Author
- Tolkien, J.R.R
- Book Condition
- Used - Near fine in near fine jackets.
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First printings (stated) all; first edition thus
- Publisher
- Houghton Mifflin Company / The Riverside Press
- Place of Publication
- Boston / Cambridge
- Date Published
- 1967
- Keywords
- 20th century,English & British,Post-WWII,Fantasy,Books to Film
- Note
- May be a multi-volume set and require additional postage.
Terms of Sale
Type Punch Matrix
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About the Seller
Type Punch Matrix
Biblio member since 2020
Silver Spring, Maryland
About Type Punch Matrix
Type Punch Matrix is a rare book firm founded by Rebecca Romney and Brian Cassidy. TPM is a member firm of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and upholds their Code of Ethics.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Flap(s)
- The portion of a book cover or cover jacket that folds into the book from front to back. The flap can contain biographical...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
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