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William Cloud Hicklin · 04-24-2020, 02:56 PM

Well, I was about 9 or 10, and read a lot (we didn't have TV). So I was a regular at our little post library, which had some wonderful books thanks to the way the Army had stocked them in the late 40s. These included leatherbound quarto 1st Editions of all the Baum Oz books, which I read through. Having run out of Oz, I asked the Librarian "Have you got anything else like that?" And so I went home with The Hobbit. This was a first-edition text, "false" version of Riddles in the Dark (with color plates including the eagle, ergo a 1st US printing, but sadly in library binding)- and also no ad blurb for the Lord of the Rings, so it was actually some time and many readings (and library fines) before I learned there was a sequel!

But eventually I did - from Marty Trinkle, the chaplain's daughter - and since the library didn't have the LR I went up to the Stars & Stripes bookstore and had Guni special-order it for me- the original Ballantine boxed set with the ghastly Remington covers.

04-24-2020, 02:56 PM	#55
William Cloud Hicklin Loremaster of Annúminas Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,300	Well, I was about 9 or 10, and read a lot (we didn't have TV). So I was a regular at our little post library, which had some wonderful books thanks to the way the Army had stocked them in the late 40s. These included leatherbound quarto 1st Editions of all the Baum Oz books, which I read through. Having run out of Oz, I asked the Librarian "Have you got anything else like that?" And so I went home with The Hobbit. This was a first-edition text, "false" version of Riddles in the Dark (with color plates including the eagle, ergo a 1st US printing, but sadly in library binding)- and also no ad blurb for the Lord of the Rings, so it was actually some time and many readings (and library fines) before I learned there was a sequel! But eventually I did - from Marty Trinkle, the chaplain's daughter - and since the library didn't have the LR I went up to the Stars & Stripes bookstore and had Guni special-order it for me- the original Ballantine boxed set with the ghastly Remington covers. __________________ The entire plot of The Lord of the Rings could be said to turn on what Sauron didn’t know, and when he didn’t know it.