J R R Tolkien / Lord of the Rings THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING / THE TWO TOWERS

The Infamous Pirated ACE Paperbacks. The Lord of the Rings: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING / THE TWO TOWERS / THE RETURN OF THE KING. Tolkien's Middle Earth grew not only from his experiences in World War I and studies as a professor of English Language and Literature at Oxford, but from his childhood hobby of constructed languages (conlangs). Tolkien argued in his essay "A Secret Vice" that "for perfect construction of an art-language it is found necessary to construct at least in outline a mythology" along with it.

In other words, your language construction will breed a mythology. Middle Earth sprang into being in part so that Tolkien could draw on a mature culture, history, and mythology for his beloved conlangs. As a result, we have Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam; Gandalf the Grey, and Aragorn who is Strider; the One Ring, the covetous Gollum, and a harrowing journey to Mount Doom. The series had been imported to the US by Houghton Mifflin, who was granted a limited, five-year license to import the trilogy in limited numbers to America.

This led to Houghton Mifflin being in violation of the law by importing too many copies from UK publisher Allen & Unwin. Due to this technicality, Ace Books determined that LORD OF THE RINGS had entered the public domain within the US, and they released an edition in the spring of 1965.

In response, Houghton Mifflin asked Tolkien to provide new material for LORD OF THE RINGS in order to create an updated edition, which could be copyrighted and compete in the market. After the revised version was released by Ballantine Books, Tolkien urged readers to put public pressure on Ace Books, and within a year, royalties were negotiated to pay Tolkien.

Tolkien : A Descriptive Bibliography, A5d. I, ii, and iii; Tolkien, "A Secret Vice" in The Monsters and the Critics. New York: ACE Books, [1965].

Three volumes, 4.25" x 7". Original pictorial wrappers, cover prices 75c, A-4 / A-5 / A-6. Some wrinkling to spines of FELLOWSHIP and RETURN (production error). FELLOWSHIP with some edgewear and faint creasing, TWO TOWERS with minor dampstain to rear wrapper. Toning throughout, with leaves rather brittle.

Overall tight set with vibrant covers. Type Punch Matrix is a rare book firm founded by Rebecca Romney and Brian Cassidy.

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