Taipei, Taiwan: Bookcase Shop Ltd, 1976. J.R.R. Tolkien. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, 4th impressions of the Taiwan Edition, in a Custom Black Leather Slipcase. A wonderful and scarce collection of Tolkien's books, the Taiwan Editions, published inJanuary and March 1976 by the Bookcase Shop Ltd, Taipei. Printed by permission of Allen & Unwin, The Hobbit is the 4th printings of the Second Edition, published in March 1976, The Lord of the Rings are all 4th impressions published in January 1976. An unusual four volume hardback set, matched in size and format. One note of significance, The Return of the King shows the slipped type on page 49, but does not have a signature mark '4' on the page. None are priced or clipped. The top edges of the books are slightly dusty, otherwise a bright set of this classic of fantasy literature. The dustjackets all show rubbing with minor color loss to the top of the spine and edges, remarkably clean and bright colors. The Two Towers show a bit of bubbling to the laminate on the dustjacket. Very Good Plus books in Very Good Plus dustjackets. The Lord of the Rings set is all in the original tan cloth, with their original dustjackets. The cloth boards have no gilt stamping except to the spine on each book. The books are all in Very Good Plus condition with the dustjackets in Very Good Plus/Near Fine condition. None of the books have a previous owners name nor any other writing, only light offsetting to the white endpapers. The dustjackets show a very small amount of rubbing, and the colors are very crisp and bright, with a slight amount of fading to the bright colors. The upper rear spine fold of The Hobbits dustjacket show a scrape that has split the dustjacket for approximately 2 inches, and also has a few tears and chips to the edges. Original maps are attached at the rear of the Lord of the Rings books, with a minor conservators clear tape repair at the mounting hinge on the Fellowships map, where the Hobbit has its maps bound into the textblock instead of as endpapers. A custom black leather slipcase stamped with Tolkien's Smaug and Ring & Eye designs, is furnished to house this lovely collection. 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 #2486

London: Harper Collins, 2004. J.R.R. Tolkien. First Thus. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. The Harper Collins 2004 UK Deluxe Edition of The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. "The definitive edition of the text, fully reset and corrected for this special edition, with many unique features: Exclusive 16 page introduction by Christopher Tolkien about the history of 'The Hobbit'. The illustration, "The Three Trolls are turned to Stone" by J.R.R. Tolkien, appears for the first time. Fully illustrated by the author, with 14 illustrations appearing in full color. Also appearing for the first time is a fold-out version of Thror's Map, with the 'magic' runes only visible when the map is held up to the light, as the author intended. For the first time the Map of Wilderland appears in blue and black, as the author originally intended. Tolkien's drawing of Mirkwood appears as the front endpaper and interior illustration. Quarter bound in green, stamped in red and gold foil on grey boards, and housed in a matching slipcase. Printed on superior quality paper and including a green silk ribbon marker. This edition is available for a limited time only." Sealed in shrinkwrap, so unable to verify that it is a 1st printing without opening. However the loose leaf flyer is priced with the original price, so most likely is the 1st impression. No faults to this lovely copy, As New, no bumped corners noted. This Deluxe Edition is a beautiful companion to the 50th Anniversary Edition of 'The Lord of the Rings', as well as matching the UK Deluxe Editions of the Children of Hurin, The Silmarillion, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, The Tales of the Perilous Realm, The Fall of Arthur, Unfinished Tales, Beowulf, Story of Kullervo, Beren and Luthien, and The Fall of Gondolin. 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 #2522

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1963. J.R.R. Tolkien. No Binding. 16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, by J.R.R. Tolkien. A beautiful copy of an early printing of The Hobbit. The 1963 14th overall printing, or the 10th printing of the 2nd Edition (1951). With the book printing history blank on the title page verso, I verified this is the 14th impression using Tolkien Collector #30 with Steven M. Frisby's article on Identifying Second Edition Printings of the Houghton Mifflin Hobbit. A Very Good Plus book in a Very Good Plus original dustjacket designed by Tolkien, as found on the original UK Editions. Stated 14th impression on front flap, not priced or clipped, noted as printed in Great Britain, this dustjacket shows a little rubbing to the spine folds and to the flap folds, with minor chips and color loss. The book is clean and bright with the bright green colored original cloth from the publisher. A previous owners name and inscription to the front edge of the front pastedown (map) no other names or any other writing noted. Shows no shelf wear, soiling, or bumped corners. Features the title, dwarves hat, author and publisher stamped on the spine in blue. Front boards have "The Hobbit" stamped in blue as well. Contains the full color frontispiece "The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the Water", as well as the original line drawings by Tolkien. The maps are in excellent condition, red and black ink still show clear and bright against the unfoxed endpapers. The jacket shows some soiling in the white sections, and the spine is lightly tanned. A beautiful copy, scarce in original dustjacket in this Very Good Plus condition. A custom green leather slipcase to house this lovely edition is provided, featuring the Dragon design as found on the UK cover. Digital photo's available, inquire if interested. Other Tolkien books available, Item #2526

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. Alan Lee & Ted Nasmith. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. The Tolkien Library, a collection of Tolkien's five most famous books. A lovely illustrated set collected together featuring Houghton Mifflin publications from 1997 thru 2004. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are illustrated by Alan Lee, and The Silmarillion is illustrated by Ted Nasmith. The Hobbit and the Silmarillion are later printings, while the Lord of the Rings all have the full number line 10 - 1. These are large and heavy books, making the set weigh over 18 lbs, or 8 kg, domestic (US) shipping only without extra shipping charges. These are housed in a double walled Custom Black Leather slipcase, featuring gilt stamped images on each side. No names or writing in any of the books. None of the books are price clipped and all are in Near Fine condition with new mylar protectors. No writing, foxing or offsetting to any of the books. A fabulous set, without any major faults. 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 #2401