The Lord of the Rings - Original 1963 UK Deluxe Set, in Original Pauline Baynes Triptych Slipcase
London: Allen & Unwin, 1963.
J.R.R. Tolkien. 1st Thus. Original Cloth. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Near Fine / No Jacket, as Issued. Item #2596
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, published by George Allen & Unwin in 1963. The true 1st UK Deluxe Edition of the 3 volumes of the Lord of the Rings, comprised of "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers", and "The Return of the King". This set is bound in the original Black Buckram cloth with gilt titles, author and publisher to the spines of each volume. Each volume features Bevel-Edged boards, gilded page edges, and original silk bookmark sewn in. The books are in Near Fine condition, with no marks and only minor rubbing to the covers and a few marks or rubs to the gilded edges, previous owners label and embossed stamp to the front free endpaper of each of the three books. The textblocks are clean and unmarked, with a very tight binding. The spine of the Two Towers is only slightly lighter in color, less so than the common flaw with this edition. Seems to only occur with the Two Towers, and never the other two books. The books are housed in the very scarce original publishers slipcase featuring the Pauline Baynes color "Triptych" artwork. This case has one mildly bumped corner, and a little rubbing to the edges amd corners as is often found. Clean and bright, one of the nicest I've run across in many years. The scarcest of all the original Allen & Unwin 1st Editions, as well as the Houghton Mifflin issues. According to publishers records, 1000 or less sets produced. Briefly mentioned in the Tolkien bibliography by Hammond and Anderson on page 98. The outside of the slipcase show some superficial rubbing, but whole and complete, without any major stains, faults or tears. A rare opportunity for this scarce set with it's original Pauline Baynes illustrated slipcase. Digital images available upon request. Other Tolkien sets, original and rebound are available. Inquire if interested. A wonderful addition to anyone's Tolkien collection.
Price: $7,000.00 save 5% $6,650.00