Pre-publication copy bound in wrappers, which were made “presumably for review and samples.” Dispatched from the printer to the publisher on 22 June 1954, a full five weeks before publication. One of just twenty copies produced.
Publisher and Year: London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1954
Edition: Pre-publication copy, one of just twenty copies bound in wrappers in June 1954. These copies were sent by the printer to the publisher on 22 June 1954, just over five weeks before the 29 July publication date of the first edition. Tolkien bibliographer Wayne Hammond writes that these were made “presumably for review and samples.” We have managed to locate just one other copy in the auction record (Christie’s, 6 October 2022), which had a slip bearing compliments of the publisher laid in, corroborating Hammond’s assumption about the purpose of these copies. The text is identical to that of the first impression, but the top edge is plain rather than dyed red. Production of pre-publication copies began in September 1953, including (1) an estimated 28-35 uncorrected proof copies bound in the same plain brown wrappers as the present copy but with an earlier state of the text and (2) 14 travellers’ samples that contained only thirty-two pages. Production of pre-publication copies resumed in June 1954. The printer sent 12 hardcover copies to the publisher on 11 June and then 20 wrappered copies eleven days later. (Hammond & Anderson, 1993, A5.a.i; later amended by Hammond in articles published in The Tolkien Collector in 1995 [No. 9] and 2000 [No. 23]; TolkienBooks, “Printing and Binding The Lord of the Rings”)
Condition and Description: Octavo, 8.75” x 5.5”, brown vertically-ribbed paper wrappers, all edges plain, map of Middle-earth tipped in at the rear, 423 pp. Wrappers worn, rubbed, and stained. Front wrapper dampstained and with white staining broadly across the surface (a conservator confirms that this is not mold). Spine strip dampstained. Rear wrapper much better preserved, with just a couple of scattered and small white stains. Old tissue repairs to the spine ends, which encroach on the front and rear wrappers. Split to the lower front hinge (1.5”), secured with the tissue on the wrapper. Interior binding secure, though the gutters at p. 112 and p. 143 are a touch over-opened. A couple of stains and smudges to the verso of the front wrapper and to the front free endpaper. Pages a little cockled until about p. 29, decreasing in intensity throughout the range. Stain to the bottom foreedge of p. 345 and continuing to the end of the book, with hardly any intrusion. Crease to bottom-right edge of pp. 70-95, not affecting text. Soft diagonal crease through the text to pp. 114-166. Small crease to bottom edge of pp. 188-193 near the gutter, not affecting the text. No prior owner’s markings. Tiny loss to bottom margin of the final two leaves (~3 x 3 mm), not affecting the text. Map well-preserved. Housed in a striking full-morocco clamshell case stamped with the eye of Sauron to the front and rear boards.
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
Inventory ID: 700 - 050 - 277
Pre-publication copy bound in wrappers, which were made “presumably for review and samples.” Dispatched from the printer to the publisher on 22 June 1954, a full five weeks before publication. One of just twenty copies produced.
Publisher and Year: London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1954
Edition: Pre-publication copy, one of just twenty copies bound in wrappers in June 1954. These copies were sent by the printer to the publisher on 22 June 1954, just over five weeks before the 29 July publication date of the first edition. Tolkien bibliographer Wayne Hammond writes that these were made “presumably for review and samples.” We have managed to locate just one other copy in the auction record (Christie’s, 6 October 2022), which had a slip bearing compliments of the publisher laid in, corroborating Hammond’s assumption about the purpose of these copies. The text is identical to that of the first impression, but the top edge is plain rather than dyed red. Production of pre-publication copies began in September 1953, including (1) an estimated 28-35 uncorrected proof copies bound in the same plain brown wrappers as the present copy but with an earlier state of the text and (2) 14 travellers’ samples that contained only thirty-two pages. Production of pre-publication copies resumed in June 1954. The printer sent 12 hardcover copies to the publisher on 11 June and then 20 wrappered copies eleven days later. (Hammond & Anderson, 1993, A5.a.i; later amended by Hammond in articles published in The Tolkien Collector in 1995 [No. 9] and 2000 [No. 23]; TolkienBooks, “Printing and Binding The Lord of the Rings”)
Condition and Description: Octavo, 8.75” x 5.5”, brown vertically-ribbed paper wrappers, all edges plain, map of Middle-earth tipped in at the rear, 423 pp. Wrappers worn, rubbed, and stained. Front wrapper dampstained and with white staining broadly across the surface (a conservator confirms that this is not mold). Spine strip dampstained. Rear wrapper much better preserved, with just a couple of scattered and small white stains. Old tissue repairs to the spine ends, which encroach on the front and rear wrappers. Split to the lower front hinge (1.5”), secured with the tissue on the wrapper. Interior binding secure, though the gutters at p. 112 and p. 143 are a touch over-opened. A couple of stains and smudges to the verso of the front wrapper and to the front free endpaper. Pages a little cockled until about p. 29, decreasing in intensity throughout the range. Stain to the bottom foreedge of p. 345 and continuing to the end of the book, with hardly any intrusion. Crease to bottom-right edge of pp. 70-95, not affecting text. Soft diagonal crease through the text to pp. 114-166. Small crease to bottom edge of pp. 188-193 near the gutter, not affecting the text. No prior owner’s markings. Tiny loss to bottom margin of the final two leaves (~3 x 3 mm), not affecting the text. Map well-preserved. Housed in a striking full-morocco clamshell case stamped with the eye of Sauron to the front and rear boards.
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
Inventory ID: 700 - 050 - 277
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