Silmarillion first edition identification

In The Silmarillion was edited and published posthumously by Tolkien's son Christopher, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer.

The first edition contains Wall Street Journal publication information and Tolkien's Middle-earth fold-out map. Bound In full leather with hubbed spines. This work is edited by Christopher Tolkien. It also contains several other shorter works "Ainulindale", "Valaquenta", and "Akallabeth" the downfall of Numenor. This new edition of the Silmarillion contains the revised and corrected 'second edition' text and a letter written by J. Tolkien in Tolkien spent more than ten years writing the primary narrative and appendices for The Lord of the Rings , during which time he received the constant support of the Inklings, in particular his closest friend C.

Lewis , the author of The Chronicles of Narnia. These, together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda and, within it, Middle-earth.

Between and , Tolkien applied the term legendarium to the larger part of these writings. While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the great success of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings led directly to a popular resurgence and the shaping of the modern fantasy genre.

Only includes the first appearance in book form. Either the UK or US edition and does not include later printings. Tolkien - Fellowship of the Ring Tolkien - Hobbit USA.

Tolkien - Hobbit Tolkien - Return of the King Tolkien - Tree and Leaf Book Collecting. Share via: Facebook 0 Twitter Email.

R Tolkien. How to Identify First Edition books by J. Tolkien Guide. First published in on page [48]. Note: Issued without dust jacket. Adds new author's "foreword. First hardcover printing of the second edition. To minimise their financial risk they convinced Tolkien to publish the novel in three instalments, with the understanding that if the first failed they would not publish the remaining books.

They also came to an arrangement, unusual for that time, in which the author would not receive profits until after the books had paid for themselves. These novels would not be illustrated, but Tolkien did design the dust jackets and his son Christopher drew the maps. The examples above are an exceptionally fine set; it is rare to come across volumes from the trilogy without some tanning of the jackets.

The Fellowship of the Ring — 29 July, in an edition of 3, copies. The Two Towers — 11 November, in an edition of 3, The Return of the King — 20 October, in an edition of 7, Given these limitations, there are only 3, possible complete first edition sets of the trilogy in existence, and with attrition the actual number is even lower, making these sets genuinely scarce in commerce.

This one-volume edition was the first time that the book appeared as the author had originally intended it. Both of these later editions are also considered collectable, and are less difficult to obtain than first editions.

The best way to identify first editions of The Lord of the Rings is by checking the publication information at the front of each volume. Check the dates on the back of the title page — the first two books should be dated , and the third dated , with no later dates present. See the example taken from a copy of The Fellowship of the Ring , below:. The Lord of the Rings is a significant exception to this rule.

Because the series was originally written as one long book, and only split into three for financial reasons, the publishers could anticipate the books to come and used the dust jacket flaps to advertise them. Much of the material existed in manuscript form, but in his latter years Tolkien was not able to devote the time and energy that editing it entailed.

On his death in he appointed his youngest son Christopher, who had been intimately involved in the inception and publication of the earlier books and, like his father, was an English lecturer at Oxford, to serve as editor and prepare the manuscripts for publication.

This article only scratches the surface of Tolkien collecting. To learn more you can consult the resources outlined below:. To see the Tolkien-related items we have in stock click here. Great article! Are there any ways to definitely identify a first edition of the Silmarillion itself?

Also on page , line 4, Feanor is missing a full stop after it. Hope this helps, Robert. There, is a detailed breakdown of the information we require. All emails should be answered within approximately 7 working days.

Are these copies worth anything? Hello and thank you for this page i just got a 1st edition, 2nd print of The Simarillion and im very proud of it! I also have the 3 books in a case which also is quite old.

I have looked for these 3 books but can not find them anywhere. Hi Helen, Do you have photos? Please send all the information you have, along with photos of the title pages and covers, to mail peterharrington. Many thanks, Grace at Peter Harrington.