The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien Allen & Unwin 2nd Edition Set 1968-69

An early set of the Lord of the Rings by J. Tolkien published in London by George Allen & Unwin: The Fellowship of the Ring, 4. Edition, 1969; The Two Towers, 3.

Edition, 1968; The Return of the King, 4. All bound in real scarlet cloth with gold lettering on the spines and Tolkien's fold-out maps of Middle Earth in black and red mounted on the rear endpapers. Although technically the second edition, the books themselves are hardly altered from the first edition copies that had ceased to be printed in 1966, but which would cost you many times as much.

These differ from the first edition mainly in the grey livery of their dustjackets (the first editions had whitish jackets). However, the dustjacket design retains Tolkien's drawing of Sauron's eye surmounted by a ring of power as its central feature.

These books were adapted into perhaps the most famous trilogy of movies of the 21. Century to date and are regularly cited as the greatest fictional writings ever in public polls. The continuing interest in Tolkien's works is exemplified by Amazon's recent and forthcoming Rings of Power series set in Tolkien's Middle-earth in its Second Age. Some of the material on which the Amazon series is based is incorporated in the appendices of this copy of The Return of the King.

CONDITION: A good plus set of early second edition volumes. The Fellowship of the Ring: The dustjacket is price-clipped and the dustjacket and boards have signs of a damp episode around the spine, although this did not penetrate to the interior pages, which are clean and bright, and the book does not have a damp odour.

There are a few small repairs to the corners of the dustjacket. The book is complete and intact and has a nice original foldout map mounted on the rear endpaper and an inscription on the front endpaper.

The Two Towers: The book is ex-library with a few stamps and traces of label removal to the front endpaper. There are dry tape marks to the rear board, the pastedowns and the edge of the rear flap of the dustjacket. The edges of the page block are tanned with use and there is a circular blind library stamp to the rear board. The dustjacket has small repairs to some corners, but is not price-clipped. The fold-out map is a replacement for the original, being the identical map from a 1990 edition of this book. The Return of the King: The dustjacket is NOT price-clipped, but the dustjacket and boards have signs of a damp episode around the spine, although this did not penetrate to the interior pages, which are clean and bright, and the book does not have a damp odour. The book is complete and intact and has a nice original foldout map mounted on the rear endpaper. Will be posted in bubblewrap and cardboard layers to preserve their smart condition. Dustjackets will be protected with removable clear cellophane wrappers when delivered.