London: Readers Union, 1960. J.R.R. Tolkien. First Edition. Original Cloth. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. A nice looking set of this unusual presentation of Tolkien's trilogy. Not for sale to the general public, limited to members of the Readers Union only. Published by the Readers Union in 1960 with the permission of George Allen & Unwin Ltd, London. The books are in Near Fine condition, without any names or writing, without any offsetting or foxing to the endpapers, clean and bright. No bumped corners to the lovely brown cloth covered books. Housed in the original dustjackets, all are in Very Good condition, with all of the dustjackets having some splits and loss to the top and bottom of the spine ends, and the corners of the flap fold areas, along with a segment missing from the back panel of The Fellowship. None of the dustjackets are price clipped, and all show a tanning and staining to the spines. These unusual dustjackets are in Very Good condition, and show very nicely, with The Fellowship showing the most wear of the three. All maps are tipped in at the rear, and in excellent condition, with no extra folds, and no tears noted. This is the set that features a line drawing by an unnamed artist for Readers Union of 'Sauron's Eye'. The only set to have this particular and very unusual dustjacket. Includes a custom brown bonded leather slipcase for display and protection of these beautiful books. Digital photo's available, inquire if interested. Other Tolkien books available, include both the UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed/Numbered/Limited Editions. Item #2532

London: Allen & Unwin, 1961. J.R.R. Tolkien. 1st Edition, Hobbits, Lord of the Rings. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. The Lord of the Rings, Comprised of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Published by George Allen and Unwin in 1961, these books are middle impressions of the 1st UK Edition, originally published in 1954/1954/1955 respectively. The Fellowship of the Rings is an 10th impression published in 1961, in its correct unclipped 10th impression dustjacket. The Two Towers is an 8th impression published in 1961, in its original price clipped dustjacket. The Return of the King is a 7th impression published in 1961, also in its original price clipped dustjacket. All three books have their original dustjackets which are in Very Good Plus/Near Fine condition showing some light soiling with a few minor chips to the edges, and only very lightly tanned to the spine. The books are in Very Good Plus condition without any offsetting to the endpapers. The red cloth boards show very well, no dampstains or soiling to note. No previous owners name or writing in any of the books, but The Fellowship has a previous owners bookplate on the front pastedown, mostly hidden by the dustjacket flap. Each book has it's own original foldout map tipped in at the rear, and all are in excellent condition with no tears or extra folds noted. A custom red leather slipcase, featuring Tolkien's Ring & Eye design along with Tengwar title & author, with the Tolkien monogram to the rear, to house and protect this wonderful set of books. Digital photo's available, inquire if interested. Other Tolkien books available, include both the UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed/Numbered/Limited Editions. Very Good Plus / Very Good Plus. Item #2325

London: Allen & Unwin, 1963. J.R.R. Tolkien. 1st Edition, Hobbits, Lord of the Rings. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. The Lord of the Rings, Comprised of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Published by George Allen and Unwin in 1962 & 1963, these books are later impressions of the 1st UK Edition, originally published in 1954/1954/1955 respectively. The Fellowship of the Rings is a 13th impression published in 1963, in its correct Thirteenth impression dustjacket. The Two Towers is an 9th impression published in 1962, in its correct Ninth Impression dustjacket. The Return of the King is also a 10th impression published in 1963, in it's correct Tenth Impression dustjacket. The dustjackets are all in Near Fine condition showing some light rubbing and very mild tanning to the spines. With virtually no amount of wear to the edges of the dustjackets. The books are in Near Fine condition with no offsetting or foxing, with same neat previous owners name to all of the books, with no other markings noted. None of the books are price clipped. The red boards on all three books are clean and bright. The gilt on the books is clean and bright. Each book has it's own original foldout map tipped in at the rear, all are in excellent condition with no tears or extra folds noted, slightest bit of tanning to the folds. Red topstain is bright and unfaded, slightly marked, on all three books. A custom red leather slipcase, with a ribbon pull, featuring Tolkien's own Ring & Eye with Tengwar Title & Author to one side and the JRRT monogram to the reverse. A lovely way to house and protect this wonderful set of books. Digital photo's available, inquire if interested. Other Tolkien books available, include both the UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed/Numbered/Limited Editions. Near Fine / Near Fine. Item #2377

London: Allen & Unwin, 1954. J.R.R. Tolkien. 1st Edition, Hobbits, Lord of the Rings, Original Cloth. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Published by George Allen & Unwin, in 1954, 1954, and 1955, the 1st UK Edition, 1st impressions. The Fellowship of the Ring is a 1st impression published July 29th, 1954, one of 1500 printed for the UK. The Two Towers is a 1st impression published November 11th, 1954, one of 2250 printed for the UK. The Return of the King is a 1st impression published October 20th, 1955. This copy is the 1st State, as per Hammond & Anderson, with the signature mark '4' and having the slipped type on page 49. Correspondence with Wayne Hammond has indicated he has revised his original definition of the 1st state, from what was described in the Tolkien Bibliography, making this the later state. All original maps are present and in Near Fine condition, no tears or extra folds. All three books are in their original dustjackets showing some soiling and a little fading to the red lettering on the books. Previous owners names (different) to all three books, along with a couple of bookstore stickers. No other markings or writing in any of the books. The front endpapers show a moderate amount of offsetting on the books, less so to the Two Towers and Return of the King. No foxing noted in any of the books. The dustjackets are not price clipped, and they have some loss to the tops and bottoms of the spine on the Fellowship and The Two Towers. A bit of rubbing and splits or loss to a few area's, mostly around the folds. The previous owner had reinforced the folds of all three dustjackets with (what appears to be) archival tape, along with a couple of small closed tears as well. These are a unsophisticated set of books, there was no restoration work performed on any of the three books. The text blocks are all clean, bright and tight, without any internal foxing. Red topstain is still bright and clean on all three books, not faded as often found. A beautiful, collectable set of first editions of this classic of fantasy literature. The gilt is bright and untarnished on the spines. The boards are very clean and bright, with a couple of minor liquid spots to the boards, virtually no shelf wear on the bottom edge. The maps in the first two books are the 1st state maps with the point of the red dot off the coast of Umbar. A highly sought after set of First Impressions of this classic of fantasy literature, with a custom red leather slipcase to protect and house these 'precious' books. Digital photo's available, inquire if interested. Other Tolkien books available, include both the UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed/Numbered/Limited Editions. Item #2231

London: Allen & Unwin, 1954. J.R.R. Tolkien. First Edition. Original Cloth. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Published by George Allen & Unwin, 1954/54/55 1st UK Edition set with each book in its original dustjacket. The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2nd impression, dated December 1954, less than 6 months after the 1st impression was released. The 2nd impression is significant for the errors introduced when the printers hurriedly reset the type to fill the 2nd order, without the publishers knowledge. Having broken down the original typeset, they reset the type, without offering proofs or even acknowledging it had been reset. Introducing numerous errors to the text, as well as incorporating a few of Tolkien's corrections. Many of the errors have remained in print to this day. The Two Towers is a stated 2nd impression in a 3rd impression dustjacket. This is the correct dustjacket for this book, as it lacks the 1955 date below the publisher on the Title page indicating it is actually the 3rd impression, with the printer omitting the 3rd impression date in the print history on the verso of the title page. The Return of the King is a 1st impression published October 20th, 1955. This copy is the 1st State, as per Hammond & Anderson corrected opinion, lacking the signature mark '4' and not having the slipped type on page 49. Correspondence with Wayne Hammond has indicated he has revised his original definition of the 1st state, from what was described in the Tolkien Bibliography, making this book the first state. The dustjacket for the Return is not the 1st State, having the blurbs on the rear flap. All original maps are present and in Near Fine condition. The Fellowship of the Ring map is the 1st State with a red dot off the coast of Umbar. An extraordinary set of first editions of this classic of fantasy literature. All show considerable tanning and darkening to the dustjackets, while the books remain clean and bright, without foxing and only a slight amount of offsetting from the dustjackets flaps. A previous owners sticker under the front flap of The Fellowship, no other names or writing in any of the books. The original boards are all clean and bright, with shiny gilt on the spines of the last two books with The Fellowship tarnished. The red topstain is quite faded on the Fellowship, while still clear on the Return, dusty on The Two Towers. The dustjackets are uniformly darkened and soiled, with some fading to the red lettering on the spines. The Fellowship is the only one price clipped, also the only one with tape ghosts to the back side where a previous owner reinforced some edges and folds. One small chip to upper rear fold on the Fellowship dustjacket, rubbing and minor loss to the spine and flap folds noted. The Two Towers dustjacket shows some rubbing and minor loss to the flap folds, no other loss noted. The Return dustjacket has slightly more loss to the top and bottom of the spine folds, as well as rubbing and minor loss to the flap fold areas. An early matched set of First Editions of this classic of fantasy literature, with a custom red leather covered slipcase, to protect and house these 'precious' books. Any questions, please feel free to inquire. Digital photo's available, inquire if interested. Other Tolkien books available, include both the UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed/Numbered/Limited Editions. Item #2439