First Editions

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by The Squatter of Amon Rûdh

By the way, my set isn't worth a fraction of what was being asked for the collection I linked to. All the volumes are from quite late print runs, it's not signed and the jackets are discoloured (I think by tobacco smoke).

Nonetheless, I was quite surprised at what you paid for them, going by the newspaper story from the bookseller, which you linked to us once in chat. Assuming that link wasn't hacked.

The maps are a very attractive feature. It is a delight to be able to open them out to a larger size, although as I recall we didn't have a great deal of opportunity to pull them out much at the Bird and Baby.

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

Do you have anyone to house-sit when on vacation

You think I can afford a holiday when I waste money on expensive Tolkieniana? When I do venture from my halls, Glaurung sometimes lends a claw. He provides his own meals, but has a tendency to heap everything in the middle of the sitting room and go to sleep on it. Usually I just rely on an elaborate system of booby traps and a private arrangement with the Belegost Mafia.

Nonetheless, I was quite surprised at what you paid for them, going by the newspaper story from the bookseller, which you linked to us once in chat. Assuming that link wasn't hacked.

Would I hack a newspaper's website just to impress a few people in the chat room? More to the point, would I admit to it in public? What you have to remember about the newspaper in question is that it's basically a glorified shop window for estate agents. The article was written in the midst of the furore over the films, and news was short that week.

Those first-edition maps are a feature I'd like to see revived in new editions. I think that a lot of people would be prepared to pay more for better cartography (my HarperCollins edition even has 'Drimrill Dale' on its maps). Yes, the pub probably wasn't the best place to look at those books, but I'm sure there'll be other opportunities. Some scans could be arranged, other commitments and pointless translations permitting.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by The Squatter of Amon Rûdh

Would I hack a newspaper's website just to impress a few people in the chat room? More to the point, would I admit to it in public? What you have to remember about the newspaper in question is that it's basically a glorified shop window for estate agents. The article was written in the midst of the furore over the films, and news was short that week.

Well, someone changed it. The original article had a colour if I remember correctly picture of the proud new owner and as I recall there were several lamentations when subsequent viewings by others failed to find the much desired image.

Archives, it seems, are not to be trusted for historical accuracy.

Are the maps as good in the fiftieth anniversary edition?

[Lalwendë]

£45,000! I paid a lot less than that for my house! (admittedly 9 years ago).

Top tip, if that branch of Oxfam were aware of what they were selling, other places, including Oxfam are not, so you may get lucky one day. After all, davem found that India paper edition of LotR on Sheffield flea market for just £3, which was totally shocking. And a lot of branches of Oxfam regularly throw away books which they cannot sell within a couple of weeks (it's caused a bit of controversy amongst Sheffield's bibliophiles), so it might be worth rummaging in bins round the back of your local Oxfam!

I'm regularly to be found scruffing about in junk bins in shops, both charity and otherwise, market stalls, jumbles etc as it's not only nice Tolkien editions that have turned up from such places, and collectors can't always be choosers. Still, might find something to supplement my woeful pension one day.

[narfforc]

I bought a 1959 copy of The Hobbit from the Oxfam shop in Preston, they knew exactly how much it was worth and it wasn't £3, so beware they are not all stupid

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by narfforc

I bought a 1959 copy of The Hobbit from the Oxfam shop in Preston, they knew exactly how much it was worth and it wasn't £3, so beware they are not all stupid

That's Lancastrians for you though. Cannier than most. Sheffield seems to lag behind a bit in that way, as shown by the £3 India paper edition. There used to be a 2nd hand bookstall outside my office too and the guy used to save me any Tolkien stuff, including a dirt cheap lovely box set. Plus I found the Family Album for £2 in a remaindered bookshop here.

Now excuse me while I set the watchmen up on the city walls to bar you all from entry.

We saw a 1963 Hobbit in Oxford's Oxfam last week and it was about £120, and it looked well-read, too.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Are the maps as good in the fiftieth anniversary edition?

I've got 3 hardback editions of the 50th anniversary edition - the Harper Collins de-luxe single volume, the Houghton Mifflin 50th & the Harper Collins 3 volume edition with Tolkien's original covers. In the HC editions the maps are fold out once again, but quite small. However, they are printed so that you can see the whole map with the book open & laid flat, so you can follow the journey. This is also the case with the 25th anniversary edition of UT & the 2nd ed Sil (both of which have been printed in the last two months (& with the same matching matte dust jackets as the 3 vol LotR, so they make a very nice set. The HM 50th has a larger fold out map, but it is stuck together with tiny blobs of rubber glue, which leaves little surface tedars on the paper when the map is opened for the first time. All the 50th editions contain the pages of the Book of Mazarbul which Tolkien drew for the original edition, but were omitted for reasons of cost. All the maps are the 'revised' one, which first appeared in Unfinished Tales (showing the forest of Eryn Vorn for the first time. It seems CT has drawn a new map for the forthcoming 'Children of Hurin' to be published in April 2007.

As an aside, the edition of TH which Harper Collins brought out to match the one volume LotR 50th has the same kind of fold out map, but, as per Tolkien's original intention, the 'moon letters' are printed in reverse on the back of the map so that they only show up when held up to the light.

If anything in this post has caused offence to other Downers, can I apologise in advance...

[Lalwendë]

Well today we went up the local golden mile of charity shops (its in Sheffield on the edge of the wealthiest ward in the UK outside London, full of intelligentsia types - its not all like the Full Monty here - so good trawls are always to be found) and I saw a fair few interesting things. A couple of second editions (4th and 8th impressions) of LotR for £28 and £30 (bit expensive really). I'd like to know if I'm right to think they're expensive! Old hardback single volumes for around a fiver. A pristine unread Unfinished Tales for £3. I actually came away though with a 1st edition Iris Murdoch for £1.50 and a copy of The Handmaid's Tale.