Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 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 Houghton Mifflin, 1954/1955/1956 1st US Editions, 1st impression/1st impression/1st impression, respectively. An exceptional and lovely set of first editions of this classic of fantasy literature. The set is housed in a custom leather slipcase with gold stamping of Tolkien's Ring and Eye design to side panel, the JRRT monogram to the rear, and the White Tree of Gondor to the front panel, to show and protect this beautiful set. The set is all original cloth with the correct original 1st State dustjackets. The Fellowship of the Ring is the true 1st US printing or impression, from the same print run as the UK edition, with the 1954 date to the title page. The dustjacket of the Fellowship of the Ring has a scrape, creating a small hole at the upper back fold of the spine, a small amount of loss at the base of the spine and a tiny amount of scuffing or loss to the tips of the flap folds. The dustjacket still presents beautifully with nice color. It has the correct issue points with the ascender clipped on the 'd' in 'Frodo' on the tenth line of the blurb on the back flap. The following 'o' is not nicked as is found on later dustjackets. The photo on the back of the dustjacket is cut straight across, not in the 'V' shape found on the 3rd & 4th impressions. Overall in Very Good Plus condition. The first state map is mounted to the recto of the rear free endpaper and has no extra folds or tears. The Two Towers is also the true 1st impression, with the 1955 date to the title page, from the same print run as the UK 1st. The dustjacket shows the 1st printing points of the 'stripe' at the upper and lower edges of the front panel, and the 'notch' in the 'r' of Towers. The notch is only found on the 1st impression dustjacket, where the stripe defect is found on some later printings. The book and dustjacket are both in Near Fine/Very Good Plus condition, no names or writing, no foxing or offsetting. A small split and some loss to the top of the spine fold area, with a tiny amount of scuffing to a couple of the flap fold tips, with the front flap fold splitting with some minor loss along the edges. The upper edge of the rear panel has a couple of triangular tears, with loss leading into the flap fold area. The map is still attached to the rear pastedown, in Near Fine condition, no tears or extra folds noted. Both the Fellowship and Two Towers maps show the 1st state point of a red dot off the coast of Umbar, which is found on both the UK and US 1st and 2nd Impression maps. The Return of the King is in the best condition of the three books and dustjackets. The book is clean and bright, lacking any previous owners names or writing, as are the other two books. The dustjacket exhibits the correct issue point for this 1st impression book, including the oversized '5' in the price with double uprights on the Return of the King. The dustjacket shows some light soiling to the white areas of the rear panel, still close to Near Fine condition overall. The books are tight and clean without inscriptions or writing, top stain still shows to all three books. The Two Towers is the only book that has its dustjacket price clipped. Besides being a truly beautiful looking set, this set is very scarce and collectable, with the 1st Two Towers being the rarest of the original 1st Editions, both US & UK, with only 1000 printed. The original maps are present in all three volumes, no extra folds or tears noted, 1st state maps in the Fellowship and Two Towers with the red dot on the coast of the Havens of Umbar. The Return of the Kings map is the correct 1st impression, with the size being approx. 16.5 X 14 inches, with a 'Borough Mill Bond' watermark, no tears or extra fold noted. A small booksellers sticker to the bottom of the rear endpaper. Other Tolkien books available, include both the UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed/Numbered/Limited Ed's. Item #2716