Tolkien: Lord of the Rings, UK 1955 set 4/2/1, RotK 1st edition w 1st state dj

Description: These items are from my 52-year accumulation of books, pulps, etc. These are all genuine originals, no reprints or facsimiles. Right up front: NO INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING. I will only ship to your Ebay-verified or Paypal-verified address in the United States. Sorry, but I've had too many bad experiences with international shipping. Shipping is free. But you might have to wait a couple of days before I can ship. You, or someone at your address, will have to sign for the package upon delivery. JRR Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings - London, George Allen and Unwin, 1955. This set of early UK printings in their original jackets includes a first edition of The Return of the King in the rarer first-state dust jacket, plus a fourth printing of The Fellowship of the Ring and a nice second printing of The Two Towers. The condition of each volume is as follows: The Fellowship of the Ring: fourth printing, 1955. Book condition: Corners and spine ends rubbed. The cloth has some small, light-colored spots. Spine lettering very bright. Minor spine lean. Hinges strong. The front and rear free end papers have some light foxing where they weren't in direct contact with the jacket flaps. No bookplates, inscriptions, or other ownership markings. Red topstain a little mottled. The textblock edges and the last few pages of the book (pages 417-423) have some light foxing; otherwise, the pages and map are clean. Jacket condition: Edge wear and chipping, mostly at the ends of the spine and the flap folds. Spine browned. Minimal rice-paper repairs on the back (verso) of the jacket, mainly along the front flap fold and at the spine ends. No color-retouching or other restoration. The Two Towers: second printing, 1955. Book condition: Corners and spine ends very lightly rubbed. The cloth has only a few tiny spots/marks. Spine lettering dulled but not rubbed. Moderate spine lean. Hinges strong. The front and rear free end papers have some light foxing where they weren't in contact with the jacket flaps. No bookplates, inscriptions, or other ownership markings. Red topstain a little mottled/rubbed. The textblock edges have a few small foxing spots, and the final leaf (pages 351/352) has a very small spot stain; otherwise, the pages (and map) are very clean. Jacket condition: Spine and flap folds a little browned and rubbed. Minor chipping at the spine ends. Minimal rice-paper repairs on the back (verso) of the jacket: one at the top of the spine; one to repair a transverse tear across the spine (about 2 inches up from the bottom); and one to repair a related tear along the bottom 2 inches of the rear spine fold. No color-retouching or other restoration. The Return of the King: first printing, 1955. This copy has the rarer first-state dust jacket, without the review comments on the rear flap. The text is the now-accepted third state: page 49 has the signature mark "4" at the bottom and has the sagging lines in the lower half of page, and the word "Men" at the bottom of page 281 does not have a gap between the "e" and the "n". ("Third state" doesn't mean third printing. "States" simply refer to changes that occurred--on purpose or accidentally--during a single print run's printing or binding process.) This state of the text was originally designated as the first state by Tolkein book experts Wayne Hammond and Douglas Anderson, but Hammond later corrected the designations in The Tolkien Collector, Issue 11. (The "TolkeinBooks" site has a very detailed discussion of the fist edition points for all three LOTR books, with full references.) Book condition: Corners and spine ends lightly bumped. The cloth has only a few tiny spots/marks. Spine lettering dulled but not rubbed. Moderate spine lean. Hinges strong. The front and rear free end papers have some light foxing, mostly where they weren't in contact with the jacket flaps. No bookplates, inscriptions, or other ownership markings. Red topstain strong. The textblock edges have a few small foxing spots; otherwise, the pages (and map) are very clean. Jacket condition: Spine, flap folds, and top edge a little browned and rubbed. Minor chipping at the spine ends. Spine has several small scuffs and scratches. No evidence of any repairs or restoration. An all-first-printing (1/1/1) set of the UK edition now routinely passes the $25K mark at auction, even with the second-state jacket on ROTK. I've noticed over the years that auction houses--and many rare book dealers--almost never mention that their ROTK has the second-state jacket, but they always mention it whenever it has a first-state jacket like this one. Draw your own conclusions.... PACKING: Books: I ship books in boxes, with plenty of padding. Pulps: I bag all pulps and include a backer board. For shipping, I’ll sandwich the bagged pulp between oversized pieces of cardboard and ship in either an envelope or a box, depending on the number of pulps and/or the total value. Combinations: I’ll figure it out. REFUNDS: I’ve been collecting for more than 50 years now and many of you know me, so I doubt you’ll be disappointed. I check every page of every item before listing. You won’t be surprised by missing pages, big stains, clipped coupons, the wrong back cover, etc. However, if the item has significant defects not noted in the description, you may return it for a refund of your original cost. (Sorry, no partial refunds.) To return an item, you must first notify me through Ebay within 7 days of receiving it.

Price: 8500 USD

Location: Seattle, Washington

End Time: 2024-10-17T18:17:33.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD