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Child of the 7th Age · 08-26-2003, 07:29 AM

Evening came out in 1997 and Night in 2000. But there is a comibned set with both cds in slipcover that was issued in 2001 called "24 songs from the Lord of the Rings." I found this in Borders in late 2002. My favorite is Galadriel's Song of Eldamar.

I know Amazon will take requests for those wanting to buy the used set (there are three people already waiting!), and I have also seen it sporadically on e-bay over the summer but you'll have to be persistent and lurk. Don't know if this helps or not....

*****************************************

Speaking of e-bay and lurking, I was able to buy something this summer that I've wanted for a long time. When most people buy a first edition of LotR, they look for the British one by Allen & Unwin with the eye of Sauron and the classic cream cover.

But does anyone remember the funky U.S. first edition in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin? They were multi-colored (I- light gold; II - aqua blue; III - dark gold) with an intricately designed tree with mysterious things intertwined in the branches -- dragons, gollums, animals etc. Very strange indeed!

Back in college, I couldn't afford the $5 for the hardcover (don't laugh!) so I had to be content with the $.95 cent softcover Ballantines. But I always wanted those crazy hardcovers which some of my friends had on their bookshelves. This summer, I lurked on e-bay every day looking for the best bargains, and I finally managed to get all three volumes. Yeah me!

If you're thinking of the kind of first editions that you can sell and retire on, that is not my set! They are in good shape, but definitely used, and later impressions. Two have facsimile dustcovers (they look great but are phoney, of course!), and one has the real thing. I went to Abe Books hoping to buy a dustcover to replace the facsimile, but it cost $550. Faint! I definitely won't be buying that...

What was interesting to me is how difficult the U.S. first edition was to find. There were at least ten times as many British first editions for sale as U.S. ones. Either the U.S. ones are scarce, or no one wants to buy or sell them because they look so quirky! But I am very pleased to have mine.

The other thing I managed to pick up at a bargain price was Tolkien's Descriptive Bibliography by Hammond and Anderson. This lists all the different editions and printings of Tolkien's works with all the variations, plus everything he did in periodicals, a listing of all the letters published (not just Carpenter's book), and other useful stuff. It's definitely for reference and not for reading!

sharon

[ August 26, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

08-26-2003, 07:29 AM	#396
Child of the 7th Age Spirit of the Lonely Star Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 5,133	Evening came out in 1997 and Night in 2000. But there is a comibned set with both cds in slipcover that was issued in 2001 called "24 songs from the Lord of the Rings." I found this in Borders in late 2002. My favorite is Galadriel's Song of Eldamar. I know Amazon will take requests for those wanting to buy the used set (there are three people already waiting!), and I have also seen it sporadically on e-bay over the summer but you'll have to be persistent and lurk. Don't know if this helps or not.... *************************************** Speaking of e-bay and lurking, I was able to buy something this summer that I've wanted for a long** time. When most people buy a first edition of LotR, they look for the British one by Allen & Unwin with the eye of Sauron and the classic cream cover. But does anyone remember the funky U.S. first edition in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin? They were multi-colored (I- light gold; II - aqua blue; III - dark gold) with an intricately designed tree with mysterious things intertwined in the branches -- dragons, gollums, animals etc. Very strange indeed! Back in college, I couldn't afford the $5 for the hardcover (don't laugh!) so I had to be content with the $.95 cent softcover Ballantines. But I always wanted those crazy hardcovers which some of my friends had on their bookshelves. This summer, I lurked on e-bay every day looking for the best bargains, and I finally managed to get all three volumes. Yeah me! If you're thinking of the kind of first editions that you can sell and retire on, that is not my set! They are in good shape, but definitely used, and later impressions. Two have facsimile dustcovers (they look great but are phoney, of course!), and one has the real thing. I went to Abe Books hoping to buy a dustcover to replace the facsimile, but it cost $550. Faint! I definitely won't be buying that... What was interesting to me is how difficult the U.S. first edition was to find. There were at least ten times as many British first editions for sale as U.S. ones. Either the U.S. ones are scarce, or no one wants to buy or sell them because they look so quirky! But I am very pleased to have mine. The other thing I managed to pick up at a bargain price was Tolkien's Descriptive Bibliography by Hammond and Anderson. This lists all the different editions and printings of Tolkien's works with all the variations, plus everything he did in periodicals, a listing of all the letters published (not just Carpenter's book), and other useful stuff. It's definitely for reference and not for reading! sharon [ August 26, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ] __________________ Multitasking women are never too busy to vote.