# Festival Art & Books: Full Guide Content

> Specialist Tolkien Rare Book Dealer run by Mark Faith, Est. 2001, Mid-Wales, United Kingdom.
> 5,000+ rare Tolkien books sold. Sales via eBay, AbeBooks and direct contact at MarkFaith@festivalartandbooks.com.


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## The Ballantine Tolkien Paperbacks and Barbara Remington's Cover Art

URL: https://festivalartandbooks.com/guides/ballantine-tolkien-paperbacks-barbara-remington

> Why the rushed 1965 Ballantine Tolkien paperbacks and Barbara Remington's cover art, which Tolkien disliked, helped propel his work to worldwide fame.

**Sold.**

This was perhaps the most important original Tolkien related art piece. It is truly deserving as a museum piece representing a key point in the history of Professor Tolkien works. This is the original concept art submitted to Mrs Betty Ballantine for the 1965 Ballantine paperbacks of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books. It was also used for the promotional posters and banners for these very popular editions. It was produced by artist Barbara Remington as a concept proof before the final colour versions were produced. The medium is gouache on illustration board, 11 x 11 inches in size. It comes with a personal letter from Betty Ballantine. This iconic illustration also has a slightly infamous reputation as Tolkien did not like it, but this does not alter its importance to Tolkien lore as we know it today.

## The History

In 1965 Ace Paperbacks in America released unauthorised editions of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the first time in paperback. This was due to a loophole in US copyright. The rush was then on for Houghton Mifflin, Tolkien's US publisher in collaboration with Ballantine books to release authorised paperbacks of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. To close the copyright loophole, a new version of the LotR text was needed, in which Professor Tolkien set out to make changes in 1965. As was his way, these revisions were quite delayed, forcing Ballantine Books to rush out a new edition of the Hobbit instead and using Barbara Remington artwork, when she had never actually read the books.

During an interview with N Marion Hage and Andwerve, Barbara said-
"I worked for Ballantine, and as a practice, always read the books before doing the artwork. I didn't have this luxury with the Tolkien Books, something I wish I could have changed. Ballantine was in a hurry to get these books out right away. When they commissioned me to do the artwork, I didn't have the chance to see either book, though I tried to get a copy through my friends. So I didn't know what they were about. I tried finding people that had read them, but the books were not readily available in the states, and so I had sketchy information at best."

(As noted above, Barbara did make sketches relative to the books, afterwards, but she couldn't get the publishers to see the point, something which is very regretful). Professor Tolkien was not impressed with the new Hobbit book cover.

In a letter to Rayner Unwin, 12 September 1965, Tolkien wrote:
'I wrote expressing (with moderation) my dislike of the cover for the Ballantine edition of the Hobbit. It was a short hasty note by hand, without a copy, but to this effect: I think the cover ugly: but I recognize that a main objective of a paperback cover is to attract purchasers, and I suppose that you are better judges of what is attractive in the USA than I am. I therefore will not enter into a debate about taste- (meaning though I did not say so: horrible colours and foul lettering) – but I must ask this about the vignette: what has it got to do with the story? Where is this place? Why a Lion and emus? And what is the thing in the foreground with the pink bulbs?'

He would go on in his letter to be less than complimentary in his letter as Mrs Ballantine would appear to have put her foot in it during the conversation forgetting she was speaking to the author. Later, it would seem they made up and became friendly thanks no doubt to the huge success of those editions. Whether he truly disliked the art or not, his main objection was accurate; what did it have to do with the story and clearly whoever produced it hadn't read the story! However the colour finals became iconic with the first paperbacks whose sales were soon to reach over a million copies. This compared to only a few thousands sold a year in hard back prior to this. Although Tolkien's own art appears on later editions of the Ballantine paperbacks, older fans will identify with the Remington covers as the first copies they ever read. Even today as book and art dealers, we find the Remington art the most recognisable of all the book covers despite Tolkien's original dislike. There were numerous artists since, but during our exhibitions, the Ballantine covers remain the most familiar and most nostalgic to book fans.

Sales boomed in America in 1965 due mainly to the response of American college students who supported Tolkien's appeal printed on the book's back covers: "buy only the authorised versions". The Ace versions were 20 cents cheaper and still selling well, but the appeal worked and Ballantine copies were flying off the shelves much faster. Professor Tolkien expertise did not extend to business matters given his serious delays to revisions. Had Ballantine Books not acted hastily in getting the paperbacks to the market quickly, Tolkien's popularity and influence might be very different today.

The Lord of the Rings became an America campus cult. Middle-earth was sweeping America helped by the formation of the first Tolkien societies, long before British counterparts, as well as helped by the hippie movement who identified with the anti-industrial themes in the book. This cult status would eventually spread throughout the world and quickly. However, Tolkien himself had different feelings and referred to the rising popularity as "my deplorable cultus". When a reporter asked him about his favour with young Americans, he replied "Art moves them and they don't know what they are moved by and they get quite drunk on it". Whatever moved them, sales worldwide would exceed 3 million copies by the end of 1968 thanks to the release of Ballantine paperback edition with Barbara Remington's "misinterpretation". This concept painting did in fact start it all!

At the time, Tolkien's works were still only beginning to achieve recognition in academic circles in America, but hardly at all in his Oxford circles. Despite the fact that we now view Tolkien works as masterpieces and perhaps contrary to how the British would like it to be remembered, it was popular American cult and availability in Ballantine paperback that truly propelled Tolkien to the timeless iconic status that his books still command today.

The common debate raging today is whether its popular cult or creative merit that makes something great, is one that will not be easily agreed. Surely though, without popularity in the first place, there would be far fewer people aware and thus willing to take the time to assess merit? They in fact go hand in hand whether we like it or not. Certainly today many people would agree there is much popular literature and art not worthy of the merit attached to it. Barbara Remington's art may or may not have merit or have been accurate to the books, but there is no denying its popularity then and now, as it is still very important among today's Tolkien fandom. Indeed, it is not hard to imagine what would have happened without it?

This piece of history has been sold; the details remain here for reference.

Sources: J.R.R. Tolkien, A biography by Humphrey Carpenter 1977. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 1981.

For more information please email Mark Faith of Festival Art and Books: [markfaith@festivalartandbooks.com](mailto:markfaith@festivalartandbooks.com)

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## Collecting Tolkien Books for Fun and Investment

URL: https://festivalartandbooks.com/guides/collecting-tolkien-books-for-investment

> How to collect and invest in Tolkien first editions: buy the earliest printing you can in the best possible condition, complete with its dust jacket, ideally from a specialist dealer.

**To collect or invest in Tolkien first editions, buy the earliest printing you can afford in the best possible condition, complete with its original dust jacket, and buy it from a specialist dealer with a reputation to protect.** Condition is everything in modern collectable books: the same printing of the same title can be worth £50 or £5,000 depending entirely on its state. There are only a handful of Tolkien titles but hundreds of editions and printings, ranging from £10 to £500,000 or more, something for every budget. Most are easy to identify, prices generally reflect what you get, and if a deal sounds too good to be true, it is.

Collecting Tolkien rare books is a tale of modern, not antiquarian, book collecting. Novice sellers' and buyers' mistakes notwithstanding, it is an enjoyable hobby with very few pitfalls. The remote chance of a Tolkien treasure turning up in a grandmother's attic or a local charity shop barely happens anymore; the public know early editions are valuable and research before parting with them. You do have to teach yourself the basics, which is part of the pleasure. Dealers will help to a degree if you are buying from them, but they are busy and cannot answer every question you could research yourself. I publish guides here, and you can subscribe to our collector's newsletter at no cost. Where you really need a specialist's advice is when you are spending thousands on a book.

## Why is condition the most important thing in Tolkien books?

The main lesson to learn is that condition is everything in Tolkien books, and in all modern collectable books for that matter. The older the printing, and the closer it is to the first printing, the more valuable it will be. Any printing must, however, be complete with the dust jacket and have no damage beyond normal wear and tear. Generally it has to have been printed by the original publishers and not be a cheap book club edition.

The same book of the same printing can be worth £50 or £5,000; it varies entirely according to condition. There are plenty of worn books; it is the fine ones that are truly rare. Every day someone tells me they have a special old book, and then I learn it is damaged, missing its jacket, or the jacket is severely damaged. Sadly it is then likely to be worthless, while the same book complete and in near-fine condition would be very valuable. As time goes on, even poor copies can rise in value as the best become unaffordable for the collector of average means. Tolkien book collecting caters to all budgets.

## How do supply and demand affect Tolkien book prices?

A lesson that has become crucial in the internet age is that you have to assess the supply and demand at any given moment. If there are no other similar copies for sale you will pay a lot more; if there are plenty of copies you will pay much less. This can change month by month, year by year. The long-term trend in Tolkien is steadily upward; I have never seen prices fall. In the last two years, copies published prior to 2000 have been the scarcest, and most are in poor condition.

It pays to shop around and compare dealers if you can, but it is less time-consuming and less risky to buy from a specialist dealer who has a good reputation to protect. General dealers who are not specialists can be inconsistent in both quality and price. Auctions are the worst place to buy: one day you get a bargain, the next you overpay. Auction prices are not indicative of values and trends except over very long periods.

## How is the price of a rare Tolkien book actually decided?

When it comes to prices, common sense sometimes goes out of the window. Shopping for collectables on low price alone is as silly as paying too much. You get what you pay for, and the old adage that something is only worth what someone will pay holds true. A rare book, like a house, may be worth £200,000, but you have to find someone who will actually pay it and who believes you when you say it is worth that much. This is where specialists with long-established reputations come in.

If you commission a specialist Tolkien dealer to sell your book, you are paying them for access to their market and relying on their reputation to guarantee quality and support the asking price. People call me all the time asking a book's retail value, even at the lower end. I might say "roughly £500", but later they tell me they could not sell it for that, because only a specialist with a good reputation has the credibility to achieve it. If you buy from a specialist you will generally get what you pay for, though not necessarily a bargain, and if there is a problem later you have recourse with a professional. Anything of real value at a bargain price is a near-impossible find, but you can get lucky. If you find a good one, buy it while you can.

## Is collecting Tolkien books an investment or a hobby?

Informed collecting, with the intention of making a gain, is investment. It requires experience and management of risk, not luck or a gamble. If you cannot afford to spend the time or lose the money, do not do it; if you do not have time to educate yourself, buy from a specialist dealer. Yes, there is always a speculative element to investing, but rarely do items of true intrinsic value lose their value completely, unless they sit in a highly specialised field like art or are subject to speculators manipulating the market.

Tolkien books are great literature and have lasted the test of time as each new generation discovers his work, something that cannot be said for many authors, who tend to be generational favourites. The best thing you can get from collecting is enjoyment of something you can develop a passion for. Do not choose something just because it makes money, but because it interests you. That way, in the worst case, you can still enjoy the books even if they do not make a fortune.

## What are impressions, and how do I read a Tolkien book's printing?

Impressions are the same as printings, terms derived from the old technology of printing presses making an impression on paper. Everything is now digital, and modern first-printing books traditionally carry a "1" in the number line to denote the first edition. This has changed in the last decade, with books printed in one country and assembled in another, so there are now big variations between publishers as to what constitutes a first printing. First *editions*, however, are a different thing, determined by the first publisher and country of origin.

Older books show the edition by year and by printing. A first edition, first printing is referred to as a 1st/1st; the next printing is a 1st/2nd, and so on. American publishers adopted the number-line system before their UK counterparts.

## Why are ISBN numbers useless for Tolkien collectors?

An important note about ISBN numbers: they are useless to book collectors. The number applies to the original registration of that particular publication, not necessarily the first edition of that book, and the same ISBN may be reused for variations like deluxe editions or changes of cover art or artist. For example, there are many variations of the 1966 Hobbit that use the same ISBN. Publishers also created slip-cased sets, as they did with the first Lord of the Rings sets, in which different impressions and ISBNs can be mixed together in a new case.

## What is a Lord of the Rings "set", and why is dust-jacket wear so important?

The original three Lord of the Rings books were printed separately, and as stocks ran out more were printed. Both books and dust jackets can be of mismatched impressions, and jackets were commonly re-used, as paper and the printing process were expensive, so spare dust jackets were not wasted. There are some surviving printers' records from the mid-1950s, but no distribution records from the publisher Allen & Unwin. A Lord of the Rings "set" was simply whichever three titles happened to be together in a given bookstore, not necessarily matched in year or printing. It was never possible to buy a set of first-edition, first-printings: by the time the first Return of the King appeared, the first Fellowship of the Ring had sold out.

Today, collectors want the earliest impressions of each title that could potentially have been available together, with jackets that match the books' impressions and similar aging and wear. Serious collectors will pay much more for a uniformly aged set. I coined the phrase *uniform wear* to mean all three jackets and books sharing similar colour, aging signs and paper wear, so they present well as a set on a shelf, not that they were bought together, but that they were kept together long enough to age uniformly.

Because hardbacks were expensive, publishers used cheaper paper. Most dust-jacket wear is on the spine, which was exposed to the air. With less central heating in Britain then, common dampness led to mould that discoloured jacket paper, especially the spine, ranging from deep brown to white spotting to faded title colours. Damp also caused bleed from the red cloth covers onto the back of the jackets and weakened the paper, leaving spines prone to fraying and loss. The rest of a jacket can still be very nice; the original colour, though, is grey, not beige or white, as you can tell from the grey flaps where the price and reviews appear. The rarest sets I have ever sold had light-grey dust jackets, which by the second edition were dark grey.

Completeness of the jackets is critical to value. Think in terms of percentage of paper loss, say 5% or 10%, usually at the spine ends from being pulled off a shelf. Whole missing sections reduce value significantly. Beware digitally printed facsimile jackets sold cheaply: they add no value whatsoever compared with a set lacking its jackets, and using one to overprice a jacket-less book is not just deception, it is theft.

## Do misprints, states and issue points matter?

The 1955 first-edition, first-printing Return of the King has three variations caused by a print error. These are interesting but have no impact on value, and they are not "states" or "issues" at all, just errors. States, points and issues are variations, mostly intentional, and for some antiquarian books without copyright pages they can help identify true first printings. But for modern books like Tolkien's, first editions are clearly stated and easily identified by the number line, so variations are of interest to some buyers, and to sellers trying to inflate values.

Collecting more than one first-edition variation of The Return of the King is a waste of money. Condition matters most, not misprints, states and issues. There is a certain type of collector who attaches great significance to variations where none exists; avoid dealers who do the same, as it usually means they are overcharging you.

*All copyright 2024–26, Festival Art and Books & Mark D. Faith.*

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## Collector's Guide Introduction

URL: https://festivalartandbooks.com/guides/collectors-guide-introduction

> Mark Faith’s introduction to the Tolkien Collector’s Guide: twenty-five years as a specialist dealer, why condition and market knowledge matter, and how this free guide can save you time and help you make better collecting choices.

Thank you for investing your time in this little guide. I hope it will enhance your Tolkien collecting experience, save you time and help you to make better choices. Many people consider their Tolkien book collecting just a hobby, but for most it’s very much a paying hobby. I financed my first collection by re-selling spare copies. If you are old enough and lucky enough to have begun collecting early editions before the Peter Jackson films came out you will have acquired some real bargains, given current valuations. Tolkien early editions and printings are easy to identify, but prices vary widely so it can be tricky knowing what to pay for a particular copy.

I have been a specialist Tolkien dealer for twenty-five years and was a collector before that. I am not an antiquarian book expert; I only know Tolkien. I think I know more than most seasoned general book dealers because I have specialised and have handled thousands of copies myself, whereas others have only seen photographs on the internet. There were no other full-time Tolkien dealers when I started but now there are dozens of ‘startups’ with many general dealers using Tolkien books as loss leaders. I am not a broker; I have dozens of rare editions in stock ready to buy. At the core of my business is a true passion for the author and the genre. I am a true fan and completely open and willing to discuss collecting and the works themselves. This guide is my way of sharing what I have learned.

Please feel free to call me or email your own tips, anecdotes and suggestions so I can improve future editions.

Mark Faith 
[MarkFaith@festivalartandbooks.com](mailto:MarkFaith@festivalartandbooks.com)

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## Technicalities

URL: https://festivalartandbooks.com/guides/collectors-guide-technicalities

> Tolkien book technicalities explained: printing history from the 1950s to digital print-on-demand, states versus printing errors, Lord of the Rings impression charts, and what proofs and advance reading copies are worth to collectors.

**Modern Tolkien collecting needs far less antiquarian jargon than dealers sometimes suggest: printing numbers, impression charts and copyright pages identify editions, but condition and market knowledge matter more than states, issues or misprints.** This chapter covers how printing technology changed, what Lord of the Rings impression records reveal, and when proofs are genuinely collectable.

## How did book printing change?

In the 17th and 18th centuries book publishers were also printers. Publishing was a high-risk business, it was expensive, and the printing and binding of books was a highly skilled craft. Only small quantities of books could be printed and bound due the prohibitive costs and the skills required. Printing runs were in the hundreds or low thousands.

Printing technology did not really advance exponentially until the 1950s with the offset press, but the low-cost waterless offset lithography changed the publishing/printing world forever in the 1960’s. It was now cheaper and easier for publishers to contract out book production to specialty printers who could now print books in large quantities, and far cheaper for multiple publishers. It became mass book manufacturing, with hardbacks and the newly popular, paperbacks.

Later, computer digital printing, though more expensive, saved money in editing and layout as well as allowing much smaller print runs, reducing the marketing risks. Modern books are now cheaply glued together, though their dust jackets are much flashier. A print run could be increased part way through as a sudden increase in sales demanded; it was print on demand.

The number line in the front of a book tells you the printing, but it is common that first, second or third print runs were all made before the first was even distributed to the public as extra orders came in from distributors. The printing number adds little to the value of very modern books which often needs to be in fine condition and signed to have any collector value at all due to large cheap print runs.

The antiquarian book market is all about very old printing methods and technology, not just old books, where states and variations determine the first edition, thus the value. It is sometimes a detective story and does require more specialist knowledge from the dealer than do modern books. The Victorians thought cloth books were ugly, bought just the sheets (pages) and had them custom bound in leather to match their private library styles. This meant identifying first printings later came down to mistakes in printing process or what other pages were bound, not the bindings or the covers. When your leather binding got worn or torn, you had it rebound again. If the back wore out (spine) then one had it re-backed. This “restoration” has re-appeared in modern times; however, the motive is now profit, not preservation.

Whole books are devoted to antiquarian book manufacturing and use many technical terms with which many modern dealers like to overwhelm the amateur collector. Mostly they have little or nothing to do with modern printing or even collector values. All trades like to guard their knowledge, but thanks to the internet people can learn all they really need to know of a particular modern author in a matter of weeks or even days. It is sad to we bibliophiles (or book lovers) that we seem to have lost the art and craft of book making/binding. I love the smell and feel of old books. In fact, oddly, I can tell a lot about a book by its smell!

There exist on-line groups of Tolkien fans fixated on printing and printer details, oblivious to the fact that the real publishing data were originally with Allen & Unwin, and long lost before Tolkien even became a phenomenon. I happen to know this first hand. The current publisher Harper Collins has a detailed record of modern editions thanks to computers. There are, however, still a few aspects of old book technology and terms relevant to modern collecting and we will delve into a few of them.

Since most popular book collecting today is concerned with modern fiction, antiquated printing and binding techniques no longer apply; the antiquarian dealer has had to become the rare modern book dealer, requiring much less specialist knowledge. Older Tolkien book fans worked hard in the early days to bring Tolkien and fantasy into the mainstream of book collecting, establishing the genre as important literature in its own right. Tolkien himself struggled to have his works recognised as important literature, especially in academic circles. In the new Letters of Tolkien, he reveals how much of his time was spent in his publishing world chasing more sales and new books. The academic world in which he made his living was being neglected. Literature fans and their clubs, and academics in the 1970s do deserve the credit for elevating Professor Tolkien’s works into mainstream popular literature. However, it was the American liberal, counterculture hippie who first put Tolkien on the world map.

1965/66 was a turning point for Tolkien book copyright due to issues in America when Ace published their own set of Lord of the Rings paperbacks. There was a rush to register new editions of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to protect the copyright in the USA. The copyright page in paperbacks and hardbacks in all countries had to reflect the change. Today, copyright pages are printed separately; sometimes the wrong one is bound in or they intentionally use an old one. Different publishers would eventually have their own copyright page versions, but it is possible for the odd copy to have an odd page variant. The publishing records, not printers’ records, would reflect this. My research and observations indicate that the 1967 Unwin paperback version used a new cover; Death of Smaug from Tolkien’s own art. It has variations making it difficult to identify certain rare printings. This also applies particularly to Hobbits.

## What is the Lord of the Rings printing history?

Professor Tolkien’s now world famous literary masterpiece “The Lord of the Rings” (LotR) was the long awaited sequel to “The Hobbit”, released in 1937. It originally consisted of five books but was reduced to three to lower printing costs and make it more affordable. The war caused a considerable delay and the author’s search for perfection in his writing exacerbated this. Even after the 1954 release of “The Fellowship of the Rings” (FotR) he continued to make text changes in the next fifteen first edition printings and on into the second printing of the second edition at which point he was more or less satisfied.

“Two Towers” (TT) and “The Return of the King” (RotK) were subject to the same printings and revisions, twelve and eleven impressions respectively. Hardback books were very expensive in the 1950s, so publishers limited print quantities until they knew the previous print run had sold out. The three books were not sold as a set initially because of the cost. Customers bought them as they were released or as they could afford to. New books were printed as the old ones sold, which gave Tolkien the opportunity to make text changes and corrections for each print run. At the same time the “Hobbit” printings were being amended so that the stories and characters aligned. There are some records of sizes of print runs and the books themselves have their print history recording year and impression on the copyright page. Accuracy influenced the amount of royalties paid.

From information printed in the books, I compiled a chart (below) of the printing history for each title. It is tempting to group them by impressions/printings or by year but there was a gap of fourteen months between the first FotR and first RotK with reprints of the first two titles also being released. What the printing records reveal is the date and quantity of allocations to bookstores. One can assume distribution must have been close to the print date, but what isn’t clear is how many of each individual title the bookstores were sent and how many they already stocked. The books and dust jackets look the same, and many were sold as seconds (discounted remainders).

![Lord of the Rings first-edition printing history chart by Mark Faith](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-lotr-printing-history-chart.jpeg)

*Printing history chart compiled from information printed in the books: allocations to bookstores, not distribution records.*

If you walked into a bookstore between July 1954 and say July 1956, it would have been impossible to know the dates and printings of any set in stock. We can only speculate on the probability of availability based on original print quantities. Contrary to popular belief, the hardbacks were NOT best sellers. Bookstores almost certainly had leftover stocks of books and dust jackets. Three book sets were sold in slipcases in limited numbers: three hundred initially, increasing to five hundred by the 1960s. These sets were comprised of books which varied in terms of date and could have been changed by the bookstore owners combining older printings with newer ones to make their own sets.

## States, issues and misprints

A lot of collectors make a big deal of “states” and “issues”. An “issue” variation happens during a print run while a “state” is a new reprint with a variation. In modern books, these are interesting, worth collecting, but not worth more than the same books without them. Modern collectors often confuse printing errors with states or issues. It may be interesting and fun to collect all the variants, but only a collector’s personal preference makes one edition more valuable than another. The first impression of The Lord of the Rings Return of the King has three states or versions; one of these has a slip text on page 49 being numbered as 4 (slip texts are printing errors where the paper slipped in the press). These, however, are not really states and not that important to the set’s value unless all three are collected. They are unique but only valuable in the sense that they help us to identify the first and early printings.

I once had a potential buyer tell me the first state of The Return of the King was the only true edition; wrong! Boy did he miss out on a lovely set.

## Proofs and advance reading copies

Advance reading copies and proofs are different things. Proofs were for text review and revision, usually by the publisher’s own proofreaders. Advanced reading copies were sent to distributors and media editors for review, feedback, and promotion, but the text is already fixed, indeed it was usually the actual bound book. These were more for marketing purposes. I sold one proof of the 3rd printing of Fellowship of the Ring. It was interesting to see the text changes and editing, especially those made by Tolkien himself. Proofs are therefore part of early publishing history therefore valuable. Advance reading copies, unless sent to an interesting party, are just another copy of the book with only a little extra value.

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## The Three Eras of Tolkien Books

URL: https://festivalartandbooks.com/guides/collectors-guide-three-eras

> The three eras of Tolkien book collecting, hippie paperbacks, pre-2000 deluxe editions, and the post-Jackson film era, plus what modern print runs, slipcased deluxes and shrink-wrapped copies mean for future value.

**Tolkien collecting spans three main eras, 1960s paperback discovery, the 1970s–2000 collector boom, and the post-Jackson internet age, and only early small print runs, fine condition and honest deluxe slipcases tend to hold real long-term value.** Modern mass printing and global assembly have made edition points less meaningful than whether a copy was preserved from new.

## What are the three eras?

Those editions and printings prior to the year 2000 might be termed first and second eras of Tolkien book collecting. We are now in the third era: post Peter Jackson films. We might very well be entering a fourth era. The first era started in the mid-1960s with the discovery of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as cheaper paperbacks by the hippies in America. The second era was the mid-1970s to 2000 where we see many new illustrators, different bindings, printings, languages and deluxe editions which catered specifically to the growing Tolkien book collector market. Then, like now, certain deluxe editions were in smaller print runs with better quality printing and as the name implies, were much more expensive. By the 1980s Tolkien fans were buying copies to collect, not to read, so many examples were found new, once read or unread, but only for a short while. These finer, older copies would become the new standard against which keen collectors compared their finds.

The third era saw even more new releases, variations in illustrators, bindings, styles and languages. At the same time, the internet was becoming more popular, and all used books could be found much more easily and traded by the public directly, not just through book dealers. There were much larger print runs of newly released books running into the tens of thousands. Newly released deluxe editions seemed more a commercial gimmick and I overlooked them in favour of increasingly valuable older editions and printings. I was aware that the attrition in older Tolkien books was due to their poor manufacturing quality. The deluxe editions were much more expensive because of the quality and because they catered to serious collectors. This third era also saw the release of more new books thanks to Tolkien’s son Christopher.

Like every other major industry, publishing has gone global. Harper Collins is now the second largest publisher in the world. As a group, they sell 120 million books a year from over 10,000 titles. They acquired Houghton Mifflin (U.S. Tolkien Publisher) amongst others and have over 150 imprints. Harper Collins UK is still the main literary agent for J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate.

Every major publisher now has their own definition of what is a first edition within their own product lines. This has changed over the years so may be different on older titles. ISBN is the standard for copyright but doesn’t identify first editions or first printings in modern books. With Tolkien books, unlike those of new authors, there are so many editions, printings, bindings. imprints etc. as to become meaningless and unimportant.

A first edition is the first version of a particular text to reach the market and in the case of Tolkien, the true first editions are the U.K. English language editions. International editions all feature U.S. spelling and grammar. First printing as defined by the number line is the first print run, but not necessary the first to reach the market. 2, 3 or even 15 or 30 can be part of the first lot of books printed and sent to bookstores, especially with best sellers. Finding a number 1 in the number line today wouldn’t mean anything in a large print run. The production of books is now computerised. Publishers can decide to print more or even make minor corrections to the text before the book even leaves the printer’s. You can have copyright page dates and print dates in the same binding that don’t match. That is because they are assembled in the UK, but the different components are printed overseas, usually China. Moreover, when 120 million books a year are printed quickly and cheaply, the number of misprints and faults are in the millions. They are sold as “seconds”, just like new clothes that don’t quite fit. As many as 40% are misprints. The perfect stock goes to big chain stores, the seconds to the second-hand stores or on-line wholesalers. Wholesalers sell them cheaply on sites like Amazon or eBay. Unsold newly printed books from new authors also suffer this fate. The royalties paid to the author are based on the selling price. These seconds are sold without shrink wrap or boxes. In the good old days, seconds were identified by clipping the dust jacket. Astonishing as it now seems, many late 1950’s printed The Lord of the Rings first editions were sold as seconds in clearance sales, unwanted in the major bookstores at the time. Bookstores like supermarkets, need space for new products which might sell better.

![Early Tolkien paperback editions](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-paperback-editions.jpeg)

## What about deluxe and slipcased editions?

The black slip cased deluxe first editions on india paper from the 1970s (1969 is the earliest) and 80s are some of our most often collected Tolkien books. New deluxe editions are gaining popularity, although first printings no longer fetch a premium. With older deluxe editions it is not just first printings that are collected, but subsequent re-prints. I have always stocked multiple copies as I sell so many, but we only list one at a time. We are now listing copies in various conditions. Not so long ago they could be found mostly in fine condition, often unread, with only minor wear to the slipcases. The original cases are as important to the value as a dust jackets are to other books. Without cases, they have little collector value but are fun to collect anyway. As the books are protected by the slipcases and are found in mostly fine condition, variations in value now depend on the condition of the case. This now varies widely as more come on the market due to increased demand. Where our prices might have reflected slight variations between cases, finer cases in original condition are now worth much more than those in average or damaged condition. In fact, the case dictates the price as the books are generally fine. The usual condition issues apply such as chips and marks, and especially the condition of the label which suffers damage through handling; clean and white with original colour is required.

![Deluxe slipcased Tolkien edition](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-deluxe-edition-slipcase.jpeg)

Given that modern books are produced in such large numbers and are poorly manufactured, most will have no future value. The sheer number of editions, variations, styles and now languages of Tolkien books encourage collecting. Add a few exciting misprints and you can spend hours, days, even years finding every possible variation; but will you have a collection of any value?

First and older editions of Tolkien books had much smaller print runs, usually 1,500 to 4,500 copies compared to 15,000 to 30,000 copies today. Older editions are bound to be rare and because they were around before people started collecting and preserving them, many were lost to attrition with damage and loss, particularly to dust jackets, which weren’t considered important then. The remaining copies worthy of collecting number in the hundreds. Books were better preserved in the second era when collectors bought them to collect, not to read. In the post Jackson film era, only brand new and shrink-wrapped copies have any future value. Unopened copies demonstrate that they were new from the publisher, not “seconds”. Today’s deluxe editions have much smaller print runs of 6,000 or less, so have a good chance of appreciating in value if collector numbers stay the same or increase. As far as modern editions are concerned, deluxe versions have the most potential followed by first edition hardbacks. On that basis I see no end to Tolkien book collecting.

## Why does Tolkien endure?

What makes Tolkien so timeless and popular through the generations? Is it that he tapped into our innate romanticism? Perhaps, given the complexities of modern life, we yearn for a vision of a simpler life with simpler rules. Tolkien’s genius wasn’t in the intricacy of his stories, but in his ability to present tales with a clarity which made them universally understood. It may have taken a while for the book world to realise, but Tolkien is here to stay. Tolkien’s works are indeed the literary highlight of the 20th century, but unless you believe this you will not pay $300,000 for a 1st/1st Hobbit.

## Closing advice

Unless beginners’ mistakes are made, collecting Tolkien’s books it is an enjoyable hobby. Although there are only a handful of titles, there are hundreds of editions and printings that range from £10 to £100,000 or even more; something for every budget. Most are easy to identify, and the prices generally reflect what you are going to get for your money.

While there was, in the not-so-distant past, the rare possibility of a Tolkien treasure being found in grandmother’s attic or a charity shop, this doesn’t happen much anymore. The public are aware that early editions are valuable and do not give them away without doing a bit of research first. You do have to take the time to teach yourself the very basics, which is part of the pleasure of collecting. Dealers will help to a degree if you are buying from them, but they are busy and cannot be called on to answer every little question you might be able to research yourself. I publish on my website some guides, and you can subscribe to my free collector’s newsletter. Where you really need the advice of a specialist dealer is when spending thousands on a book.

Again, the main lesson to learn is that condition is everything in Tolkien books, as with all modern collectable books for that matter. The older the printing and closer to the first printing, the more valuable a book will be. With any printing, however, a book must be complete with the dust jacket and have no damage other than that caused by normal wear and tear. Generally, they must be printed by the original publisher and not be a cheap book club edition. The same book of the same printing can be worth £50 or £5,000, depending upon condition. There are plenty of worn books about; it’s the fine ones that are truly rare. Every day someone says that they have a particular old edition, but then I learn that it is damaged, missing its jacket, or the jacket is severely damaged. Sadly, it’s likely to be worthless, while the same book complete and in near fine condition is very valuable. As time goes on, however, even poor copies can rise in value as the top end of the scale becomes out of the reach of the collector of limited means.

Should you commission a specialist Tolkien dealer to sell your book, you will be paying them for their access to their market and using their reputation to support the price they are asking. Even at the lower end of the market, people call me all the time and ask me the retail value of certain books. I might say, for example, roughly £500, but later they’ll tell me they could not sell it for that. That may be because only a specialist with a good reputation has credibility when setting a price. Similarly, if you buy from a specialist, you will generally get what you pay for, though not necessarily a bargain. If there is a problem later, you have some recourse with a professional. Finding something of real value that you can get at a bargain price is a near impossibility, but it can happen, with a lot of luck. If you do find a good one, buy it while you can!

*All copyright 2024–26, Festival Art and Books & Mark D. Faith.*

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## What to Buy

URL: https://festivalartandbooks.com/guides/collectors-guide-what-to-buy

> What Tolkien books to collect and why condition beats edition: specialist dealer expertise, Hobbit and Lord of the Rings priorities, signed books and bookplates, dust-jacket wear, restoration versus repair, and when art editions matter.

**When choosing what Tolkien books to buy, prioritise the earliest printing you can afford in the best possible condition, complete with its dust jacket, and buy from a specialist who has handled thousands of copies.** Condition influences value more than edition points or jargon. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings remain the core of almost every collection, but signed books, uniform wear on sets, and honest photographs matter as much as the printing itself.

## Why does specialist dealer experience matter?

When I started the business in 2001 there were four specialist Tolkien dealers. Two have since retired with another coming and going. Over the last ten years the development of online book selling has produced many new dealers, including a few promoting Tolkien books, but these also sell many other authors’ work too. I think special expertise in the work of a single author is important. Tolkien is even more popular thanks to all the films, and I notice that a lot of booksellers use Tolkien books as a loss leader in their online advertisements. If you visit their websites, you will find that they have very few books. Excepting the four specialist dealers mentioned earlier, few have my experience, especially of rarer, higher value books. What is required is not knowledge of books in general, but knowing which is the better of two or more copies and knowledge of what is likely to appear on the market. I have sold thousands of Tolkien books and have seen many thousands more in the process. There is simply no substitute for this experience.

Tolkien first editions are not difficult to identify as most of the publishing data are clearly indicated in each book. Many dealers and even Tolkien fan clubs make it sound more complicated than it really is. The use of jargon makes the vendor seem knowledgeable in order to promote sales and raise prices. Condition has the most influence on value, especially that of the dust jacket. Modern editions from 1990 onwards are glued together, not sewn. The materials are harder wearing and the colours don’t fade as much. However, after having been read a few times, they may begin to fall apart. Newer editions are therefore most valuable unread or read just once. A book by another famous author I once specialised in deteriorated just while sitting on a shelf; the glue dried out and the pages became loose.

## How does condition affect scarcity and value?

As an author’s work becomes more collectable, people look after their books better. This results in less wear and tear so that many copies remain in near fine condition. It is the demand for the books that creates the scarcity, not just the printing. In older Tolkien books the damage attrition was much greater, more wear and loss of copies creating scarcity. He was not famous at the time and people didn’t think to collect the books or look after them. It shocks me to see cup rings on books and jackets, books having been used as drink coasters. The greatest damage is from damp especially in Britain where until relatively recently, people didn’t have central heating. This rainy climate and damp housing has ruined more Tolkien books than any other factor.

![Spine wear and fading on early Tolkien dust jackets](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-book-spine-condition.jpeg)

*Most dust-jacket wear appears on the spine, exposed to air, handling and damp.*

## What titles and editions should you collect?

Tolkien collecting is mainly focused on two Books: ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’. These titles, even their later editions and printings, are the core of any collection. There’s a handful of other fiction titles which are becoming scarcer and rising at a faster rate than even the two main titles. As they started so low, they have the furthest to go. However, people collect the titles they like to read, and Tolkien’s other fiction books are of less interest. His non-fiction academic books are a very specialist area. There isn’t as big a market, so they too aren’t going to be in such high demand. Books about Tolkien except the first biography aren’t collectable. eBay needs to change its categories as they clog up the important fiction listings.

Some editions are obviously scarcer than others with some variations of those editions being even more collectable. For example, American editions are, strictly speaking, reprints unlike their U.K. counterparts. However, there’s a nostalgic aspect to book collecting and people start with the editions they first read when they were younger, American and British. Editions produced before 1965 are very rare and the closer you get to the first printing the more prohibitive the price for the average person. From late 1960s to the 1990s print runs got larger and larger. There are therefore plenty around, but not always in fine condition. Books and film memorabilia produced after the Peter Jackson films have produced many new film fan collectors, but it will take decades for these newer items to become truly valuable. It depends on how many new fans come along, with new films coming again it seems the franchise is not ending. The exception is new deluxe editions which are better made. So many are printed, however, that it is hard to imagine them being scarce in the future. ISBNs, reset editions and number lines do not apply to rare book collecting, only to editions less than 30 years old. ‘Edition’ no longer matters. This is something I knew but didn’t know that I knew. It has to do with registration of the printing of books and copyright of the content. In later publications the same ISBN can be used for a different version of the book with a new cover, binding etc. Sheets or pages can be reset into a new binding. This happens when books are paired in a slipcase set, etc.

Number lines, 1-10, on the copyright page, do indicate the printing. Where there is a ‘1’, it is the first printing. Everything now being done digitally, editing of the text, layout etc., means that errors can be corrected during the printing of the first edition. A second or third print run can be performed at the same time as the first if demand exceeds expectations. I have walked into bookstores selling supposedly newly released books to find the lowest number in the number line to be a 2 or 3. Since condition matters most with modern books (they must be ‘as new’) the edition no longer matters. As most modern books are printed in such large numbers, I doubt they will become rare or valuable. If they are signed however, that’s different.

As regards Book Club and Folio Society editions, the chances are these won’t be worth much because so many were printed, and the binding quality is so low that they won’t stay in fine condition. Certain very early such editions are increasing in value, but they must be in fine condition. The modern ones I see look cheaply printed and frankly, quite ugly. I don’t see them rising in value much. The first editions/first printings of early paperbacks are valuable if in true fine condition. Eventually later paperback editions will be collectable, but not the reprints. I do, however, know collectors who collect everything Tolkien; it’s a compulsion. The more of them there are, the more everything Tolkien will appreciate in value.

The History of Middle-Earth set of twelve books is not as popular in terms of content as Tolkien's other books being hard going reference material. It comprises Tolkien’s academic references for middle-earth, painstakingly compiled from his notes by his son Christopher after his death. Those setting out to complete a full collection must buy the set in fine condition. The publishers were inconsistent, so it is difficult to identify the first printing of each volume. Book of Lost Tales 1 & 2 and Silmarillion should be added to make a fifteen-volume reference set. What isn't widely known is there were fewer printings of the last three titles of The History of Middle-Earth so these are harder to find when completing a twelve book set. You often see books one to nine for sale, but ten to twelve are always sold as part of a complete collection. As far as future value goes, because they aren't as popular to read, they might not appreciate as much, but remain collectable for dedicated fans.

Many sites catalogue non-fiction Tolkien books and books about Tolkien with his fiction books. The list of fiction books is quite short, aside from the main two, there are Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wooton Major, Tom Bombadil and Tree and Leaf. The latter are collections of poems. All are part of what Tolkien described as ‘faery stories’. His earliest published work was the poem, Goblin Feet. There are also works his son Christopher Tolkien produced based on his father’s notes on middle-earth, as aforementioned. His non-fiction works were academic. The money he later made from his masterpieces meant he did not have to publish academic works any longer. The Silmarillion is perhaps the most well-known book that was published after Tolkien’s death. These and the later editions of all his earlier books, from different publishers in different languages and with different illustrators, number in the hundreds. Except for deluxe editions, they all had large print runs, so time will tell what will remain collectible and rise in value in the future. Already, his early fiction books in first edition have all but disappeared. Most collectors start with the two main books, then, as financial means improve, they go back to collect early editions which are rising in value much faster. In the more than 20 years that I have been a dealer my revenue has climbed more from rising values than rising numbers of customers. Early editions in finer condition are now out of reach financially for most people which has led to desperation in terms of the quality of what is selling now. My advice is to collect the earliest published editions in the best condition you can afford. These are the rarest and will be increasingly hard to find.

## What about signed books and associations?

Recently we have seen signed and unsigned Tolkien books which claim an association with Professor Tolkien. This is a tricky business as far as value and collecting are concerned. A signed and inscribed book is valuable if it can be proven genuine, but it is exponentially more valuable if the association is known and substantiated. It is worth paying extra, a lot extra, if there is provenance with the item and if the association was close. That Tolkien went to a dinner with, and signed a copy for a relative stranger does not make it special. Also, a close association may not make it special either unless supported by letter exchanges revealing it as such. The Letters of Tolkien is a good reference source for such associations.

It is said that 50% of signed Tolkien books are fakes, but which 50% are they?

![Example of a signed Tolkien book](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-signed-book-example.png)

Tolkien had his signature printed in some early paperbacks attesting to the fact that they were authorised editions. That meant that his signature was known and could be forged. As time goes on and signed books become more valuable, so more fakes will be produced. Some are so good that it is unlikely that one could tell the difference without expert knowledge. I have sold many signed books and letters. I consider myself one of the world’s experts, but I will not explain how you can tell a fake from a real one, for obvious reasons. I do give a certificate of authentication with every signed item. Those with provenance and associations are three times more valuable. My advice is only to buy signed items from specialist Tolkien dealers, but this does not include auction houses which do not have experts on every famous person’s signature. I have sold many hand-written letters which gives me experience with his writing.

## Do bookplates and owner inscriptions matter?

Some people dislike owners’ signatures and bookplates. This is a carryover from the antiquarian book world. My professional opinion is that small bookplates don’t affect the value as overall condition matters most. Bookplates and signatures do no harm and there’s a certain charm to a hand-signed, beloved book as many passionate collectors will agree! Offered two identical books I’d prefer the one without bookplates but better still one that has an owner’s signature, especially if it is in all three books of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ set for example. This gives an important clue as to when they were bought. Different signatures in each volume of a set means that they were bought separately and not kept together as a set. The most important feature of any set of first editions is that the dust jackets’ wear and aging matches, indicating that it has been together from the outset. The 1960s sets were sold as such each year so the combination of impressions of constituent volumes is consistent. Up to that point a greater variety of impressions were used depending upon availability. There was consistency only in the few sets earmarked for sale in slipcases. Uniform wear and aging are the only clue that a set purporting to be from the 1950’s was not compiled later. On balance, early Tolkien books are so rare now that none of this matters much in their case. In rare instances there are large and long descriptions on the blank end papers or sometimes multiple inscriptions from multiple owners; these can affect the value, but again relative to overall condition.

![First edition Lord of the Rings set with matching jacket wear](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-lotr-first-edition-set.jpeg)

*Uniform wear and aging across all three jackets suggest a set kept together.*

## Why are early dust jackets so fragile?

The early edition hardbacks and their jackets were cheaply printed. Despite this, they were very expensive in their day. The first Lord of the Rings mid-1950s cost about two months’ salary to the average working person. Only until printing became cheaper in the 1960s were they more accessible. The dust jackets of older books were only there to advertise other books from the publishers and to protect the cloth covers. ‘The Hobbit’ in particular seems to suffer the most attrition, probably because it was a children’s book. They perhaps decided it wasn’t worth spending money on quality if children would just ruin them. This is one of the main reasons the first/early editions are so rare. Of the original thousands printed, only hundreds exist today in collectable condition. This is leading to the restoration of dust jackets.

![First edition Hobbit dust jacket](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-hobbit-first-edition-dust-jacket.jpeg)

Over time I’ve observed that certain once common editions are now rare and that certain editions are more popular than others and thus harder to find. If I mis-judged and missed an opportunity over the last decade, it was not buying more of the second, third and fourth editions of Tom Bombadil, Farmer Giles of Ham and Tree and Leaf while I still could. Percentage wise, they have soared in price more than any other Tolkien title the last 3 years. Consequently, later printings are started to rise in value as 1st/1st editions are all gone.

## How should you judge condition and price?

Knowing the effect of condition on price is more an art than a science. It pays to think of condition in terms of the likelihood of finding a better copy coming along. The beginner’s mistake is to delay, missing out on the best copies in the hope that better ones will come along. Another beginner’s mistake is buying on price alone. If you are going to be serious about rare book collecting, the rule is you get what you pay for. A cheap and worn collection will not appreciate. Nearly all collectibles, or indeed any asset will have a future value built into the current price, based on market anticipation of price movement. This is an important concept. The property market is a good example of this. This means that the buyer must have an expectation of what that future value might be before they decide what they’ll pay. Things may not be worth the asking price but rather what people will actually pay. There’s a speculative element in any market that many people seem to get right more than they get it wrong. What makes you a good predictor of the future is the ability to read minute market indicators and make connections that others miss. An eye for detail is important, and this improves with time and experience. Predicting the future value over time, short and long term, is a collecting skill. If you don’t have it, then buy from the more experienced sellers. Don’t be cheap!

Before the internet it was very difficult to become a specialist in the rare book world, it took years of exposure and the building of a reputation. Their business is a supply business, having a supply before others or when no others have the same books. General book dealers with shops must make a profit every month to stay in business. The effect of overheads on profit is reflected in the price of every book they sell. If their business is down, you might get a bargain. However, this can also mean they are not as diligent in the description of condition. Unless you can inspect the book in person, there’s always a risk in buying online from a non-specialist. Sales feedback as we know it now is meaningless, but a reputation as a specialist dealer of long standing speaks volumes. If a general dealer sells a lemon, they lose a customer; if a specialist in only one author or genre gets it wrong, they damage their business. Word gets around. The longer a specialist is in business, the more likely they will continue to get it right. Making the quick buck ceases to be an option as you become more specialised.

Seeing the actual book was critical before the advent of the internet. Today, study of the sellers’ photographs will tell you almost everything you need to know, especially if you use a large computer screen with high resolution, rather than a mobile phone. Note that colours and shading vary between display screens, but you should be able to see the main flaws. Knowing where to look is the key. As I said earlier dealers’ detailed descriptions are often only there to impress you, to give you the impression that a book is worth what they are asking. Most old book manufacturing terms don’t apply to modern printed books. Ask for more photos if you can’t see the whole book jacket especially the spine of the dust jacket. You can become a flaw detective, predicting that a flaw is just off the edge of the photo for example.

Damage to modern books, less than forty years old, is most common on the dust jacket and book spine. The colours on the dust jacket’s spine can be faded or the paper torn and tattered at the top and tail from being pulled off the shelf. The covers are almost always fine having been protected on the shelf, even from environmental damage like damp and mould. If a seller has posted poor photographs that don’t show the commonly affected areas, chances are you are wasting your time. Somebody who has done a little research, even a private seller, will know what their book is worth and provide good photographs. Damaged books, ex-library books, and those without jackets, even ‘Lord of the Rings’ volumes, are worthless. Regarding the latter, yes, there will come a time when books without jackets will have value, but from a future investment point of view, not yet. Sometimes ex-library books have decent jackets without marks but look carefully.

Books that have suffered damage from age and regular reading are to be regarded differently to those having suffered abuse and neglect. Average read condition is my baseline with any defects beyond that being detrimental to value. Experienced collectors and even novices expect to see age-related defects but not the results of neglect and mistreatment. Naturally, they expect newer editions to be flawless but want their attention drawn to extraordinary wear or damage by descriptions and photographs. Failure to point out an obvious flaw only wastes everybody’s time. It is inconsiderate. I was the first to show dust jackets laid flat in my photographs so that buyers could see the entire jacket’s condition. I conceal nothing. If I don’t show it, there’s nothing to see. You can see the marks, tears and fading to the spine and lack of fading to the flaps as well as the extent of paper loss. I would go as far to say that some sellers go out of their way to hide damage in the composition of their photographs, even some dealers. Why is this? It only leads to returns and the loss of a new customer’s trust. Call me old school but wasting customers’ time shows a lack of respect for them and their business. Some mega-companies are going to learn this the hard way.

## Restoration versus repair

There is a difference between dust jacket restoration and dust jacket repair. Museums define repair as something that could be removed without damaging the original state. Repair is generally for preservation and conservation, to prevent minor damage from getting worse. For example, acid free clear tape over a paper tear is fine as it prevents it from tearing more. Restoration rebuilds what is severely damaged or missing and can’t be removed later without causing more damage. The main difference is motive. The damaged item has a value as it is. The restoration has a value. The two together, however, do not make the item worth what it would be in original, undamaged condition. Unacknowledged restoration is deception, fakery, and the motive are only profit. I am shocked to see major auction houses selling restored items but not disclosing this fact. Some say that if only a small percentage, perhaps 5%, has been restored, it is acceptable. I say not necessarily. Most restoration is likely to be to the jacket spine ends or corners, to make it look like new. If the vendor isn’t charging for fine, then perhaps that is acceptable. No one wants to see the damage get worse on a truly fine set, so some conservation repair is good.

![Restored dust jacket example, restoration does not add value](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-restored-dust-jacket-example.png)

To me, restorations says more about the buyer, than the seller. Sellers want to make money. If the buyer is happy collecting a fake, it is more about whether they look good, not the quality of the item they collect. Some can live with a fake, others cannot. Someday partly restored jackets will be common and fully acceptable, but for now, buy unrestored copies. Minor repairs are fine. Authentic collectors prefer them warts and all.

Archival paper repair tape is almost invisible and is acid free. Importantly, it can be removed (using the above) and no trace remains on the original condition, thus making it a repair, not restoration. This is so important where paper has begun to tear to stop it from getting worse: a stitch in time saves nine. Acid free glues are also available for carrying out safe repairs. Where a book binding is loose, usually from the paste down starting to come loose, you can carefully lay down some glue between the paper and cloth cover to tighten it up again. Importantly, this will stop the gutter from tearing! Gutter being where the pastedown paper meets bound pages on the blank end pages. Modern books have two parts, the cardboard/cloth covers and the pages which are sewn/glued as a packet. These two are attached together using a paper paste down. If heavily stained from the effects of mould, or torn, the pastedowns can be replaced and the book rebound, if you can match the paper. However, this is now entering the realm of restoration. In newer books, ask to see photos of the end pages and the spine of the dust jacket.

As with their school books, some people put plastic and even brown paper over original dust jackets to protect the jackets and the book. It is a great idea as such dust jackets have obviously benefited, especially the original colours, which don’t fade as much. However, tape adhesive contains acid which eventually stains the paper even after the tape has been removed. This is generally on the flaps or the pastedowns (inside covers) of the book. A professional can bleach such stains on dust jackets if not too deep but generally they penetrate and can be seen from both sides. Sometimes the stain is just on the reverse of the flaps and can’t be seen. As early jackets become scarcer, such damage will become more acceptable. This does not apply to laminated dust jackets where the protection can’t be removed. These I am afraid are worthless.

If people can be shown honestly what they are buying, they can make an informed decision. The informed customer is the best customer. You will not find time-wasting descriptions or lengthy terms and conditions in my listings or business terms. Where I see such meticulous terms and conditions I automatically assume that this seller sells rubbish and gets lots of returns. This matters of course not just with expensive purchases, but with every purchase. Oddly, honesty keeps people coming back; what a concept.

## Is collecting about profit or passion?

Most new collectors start small and build up. I suppose this is to see if they really enjoy collecting. Others recognise that certain early titles are going to be investments and start at a higher level but subsequently go back to collecting the less expensive editions. There’s a finite amount of ‘spend’ as a new collector because you have not quite developed your sense of future value potential which becomes more real the more passionate about collecting you become. Collecting anything is not logical, it is emotional. I’m not sure the human as an animal is a natural collector. Certainly, many don’t get it, and so don’t collect. We have all seen T.V. shows on collecting where someone finds out that a worthless looking thing is worth thousands. I think this is more like gambling then collecting but value going up is part of collecting otherwise we wouldn’t do it for very long.

Collecting books is generally about liking literature and a particular author. It is also about a hobby and enjoyment, not always about profit. Tolkien books with hundreds, even thousands of editions and printings can become an obsession when combined with a passion for the author. Are the early and first printings really worth the money some people pay? Where is the cut-off point? Logic kicks in when you come to realise that Tolkien books are an investment which can be very lucrative. You develop an investor’s viewpoint, especially if you must explain it to a partner. Of course, those who started years ago have an advantage, but my customers who started later are making more money as prices become crazy. All markets are subject to peaks and troughs with periods of bubbles (inflated prices). In Tolkien this has become part of the film cycle. I think you must take the view that you are in it for the long run but take the gain when it feels right, or when you need it.

## What about Tolkien art?

![Book and Magazine Collector December 1988 No. 57](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/book-magazine-collector-december-1988-no-57.jpeg)

*Book and Magazine Collector December 1988 No. 57*

Of course, Tolkien art is also collectable. By 2014 I was an agent for most of the Tolkien-inspired artists selling originals and prints. I also sourced original fantasy and science fiction art used by poster companies like Athena, and art used on book covers. Most of the well-known Tolkien art is in a museum I helped to found. I no longer deal in art (long story). There are two types of Tolkien art: that which was authorised and used in books and posters, now extremely rare and all but gone, and Tolkien-inspired art by established and emerging artists. This mostly means art inspired by the books and lately the Peter Jackson films. Thus Tolkien-inspired art can be divided into what came before the 2001 films, and what came after, copying the art concepts used in the films.

Art before the films relied on the artist’s imagination and interpretation of Tolkien’s written masterpieces. Professor Tolkien himself was an amateur artist and of course had his own vision of middle-earth. He was mostly concerned with sub-creation, what his readers pictured and imagined in their minds as they read the books. He personally approved of just one artist in the main: Pauline Baynes. The now iconic art of the 1965 first paperbacks by Barbara Remmington was not to his liking, but later when it made him famous, his opinion changed. I look out for art and prints produced in the 1960s and later, which is pure interpretation of the texts. I can recommend artists who accept commissions.

![Pauline Baynes Tolkien cover art](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/pauline-baynes-tolkien-cover.jpeg)

*A Baynes cover*

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## Where to Buy

URL: https://festivalartandbooks.com/guides/collectors-guide-where-to-buy

> Where to buy rare Tolkien books: building a relationship with a specialist dealer, negotiating politely, why auctions are risky, how the Tolkien market behaves like a commodity market, and the bell-curve lesson that explains why fine copies keep rising in price.

**The safest place to buy rare Tolkien books is from an experienced specialist dealer with stock in hand and a reputation to protect, not at auction and not on price alone.** Building a long-term relationship, negotiating with courtesy, and understanding how the market behaves like a commodity futures market will save you from overpaying for poor condition or restored jackets.

## Why build a relationship with a dealer?

As a dealer and businessman, future stock value is twenty years away for me, but I do need turnover to buy more stock. My consignment business advising people when to sell is about timing and individual client needs. Some will sell collections to pay for their children’s education; others will leave their collections in their legacy. What creates a shortage is books going into collections and not reappearing for decades. This could mean that at some point, when future generations no longer like Tolkien books or films, thousands of books will flood the market causing values to plummet. Alternatively, like some other classic books, Tolkien’s works may continue to reach new highs, particularly when in fine condition. I am passionate about the core literature so believe collecting will continue long after I’m gone. It is hard to convince others who have never read the books or don’t enjoy them that this is the case. That is human nature. We like what we like.

Developing a relationship with a regular dealer is worthwhile. I do business with people, not computers. That way you learn more and get better deals over time. I honestly prefer dealing with regular old customers than chasing after new deals. It is perhaps my age, but younger people often do business differently. They are less trusting, less informed, more demanding, and frankly often rude. Their attitude is that their business is more valuable than everyone else’s. Okay, if you are looking at one of my books at £50,000, you are going to be wined and dined by me. You can certainly expect me to be polite, do as I promise and make doing business as easy as possible, without wasting your time or mine.

## How should you negotiate?

One area of difference I have noticed between generations is the ability to negotiate. Frankly, the young are poor at it perhaps because they buy everything online without contact with a real person. Sending me a blunt message without ever having dealt before such as “what is your best price?” is not going to get you my best price or not even a discount. A polite email or phone call will get you something, be complimentary and you might get a huge discount. Its only human. If I think you are going to keep buying from me, your discounts will get bigger in time. Buying in quantity will get you a bigger discount. I do business with people I like and won’t do business with people I don’t. I can and do discriminate as I do sell very rare books. Negotiating is about building a rapport to achieve a better price or favourable terms, but you must be sincere and ready to keep your promises. Never break a promise to buy or do something. This might seem cheeky saying such things, but trust me, it works with sellers I deal with.

## Are auctions a reliable guide to value?

An old adage is that something is only worth what buyers are willing to pay, but that doesn’t demonstrate true value; the next item could sell for more or less. Auctions are helpful with unique pieces like art works, perhaps, or antiques as far as establishing a baseline value goes, but many of the same books can become available with a huge variation in prices. Auctions profit from excitement, emotion and sentiment. If someone feels that, in the heat of the moment at auction, they must have something, they may pay way over the odds. If no one else bids, they may get a bargain. Sales platforms or bookdealers’ prices give a better idea of trends and values in real time. Rare Book Hub publishes the results of book auctions around America. These are useful for understanding whether book markets are picking up or slowing down. The percentage of items selling at a price exceeding the minimum bid is particularly instructive.

While the auctions do have specialisms, few are any good at indicating Tolkien values which can vary widely. The other thing auctions can’t provide, which is vital to value, is an accurate description of condition. A few years ago, the two major houses in London sold Tolkien books with restored dust jackets for very high prices. In my opinion, they were worthless. Restored jackets aren’t worth more than they would be in their original condition. You only have to follow other collector markets like those for classic cars or stamps to learn the value difference between original and, frankly, the faked.

It is exceedingly difficult to assess whether a recent price achieved for book at auction is indicative of trend or an exception. Buying at auction is risky both in terms of condition and price. Auctions can be high-profile or provincial. It is possible that a one-off, truly rare copy might have come up, key factors being condition, the general economic climate, and finally whether two keen dealers or collectors bid each other up to a ridiculous price. Book auctions are still mostly for book dealers and antique trade professionals as they know more about what to look for and the price they are likely get when reselling. Even dealers prefer to deal with known fellow dealers because they know what to expect.

General dealers and auctions houses claim to have rare book expertise, but how can any general dealer really have expert knowledge of every author and their market? On any given day, I can tell you the value of any Tolkien book you might show me. It’s an art, not a science.

## How does the Tolkien market behave like a commodity market?

In another lifetime, I traded commodity futures contracts. That inspired me to think about investments and speculation in rare books in the same way as the book market, thanks to the internet, behaves like a commodity market. Yes, you are just buying books, but it’s all about their future value and how the market behaves given the fundamental principles of supply and demand. When few are available books are always priced at the perceived future value, not necessarily current value. More common editions are so readily available that you pay the current price, knowing that they are unlikely to appreciate much in the future. When a particular book is continually available, the buying and selling cycle is much shorter, perhaps just weeks or months. When a book is very rare that cycle could take years. You must have a time frame in mind.

A little more about commodity market, one of the oldest forms. A modern feature of it is the commodity futures contract, a promise to buy or sell in the future, like a stock option, at an agreed price, usually about a year later. In commodities futures you are not buying based on the actual supply and demand forecast, but the speculative outlook. You are gambling that the price will rise (or fall - more complicated) in the future. Speculative commodity futures contracts have an influence on the actual commodity price throughout the year. The commodity price is affected by what is happening in the real world: drought, flood, political uncertainty etc. A trend toward oversupply or undersupply can be perceived at a certain point. There are no future contracts in books, but the bookseller and buyers share the mindset of that world.

The volume of trading also affects perceived value; people copy each other. This brings more speculators whose trading activity moves the market more than external events. If there’s a lot of activity in both real and speculative markets, you get volatile prices in short bursts. If there’s little activity, fewer books come on the market and choice is limited. Prior to the internet, the rare book market was a purely physical market, usually local to a city, region or country. The internet brought us real-time supply, demand, and price data, from all over the world which requires a very similar set of analytical skills for book trading to those required for stocks or other traditional investments.

The Tolkien market has become much more speculative than ‘real’, a market for traders rather than true fans. This has upset some fan societies. Like me a fair number of collectors spotted the opportunity to buy and sell to upgrade their own collections and became part-time book dealers in the process. Most have funded their own collecting. I started with many genres, but with a world-wide market, I was able to focus on only one author of just a handful of titles and make a full-time business of it. To be a successful trader I must study and understand the market every day, all day. I must be prepared to act every day to take advantage of the volatility of supply. It is therefore easier to get what you pay for by buying from an experienced Tolkien dealer than it is by becoming one.

Smart people know that your money must work for you and are more willing to try new markets, even risky ones, when traditional markets aren’t performing. The stock market in recent years has returned as much as it has gained. Investors are waiting for new trends; consequently, there’s an astonishing amount of cash sitting around right now looking for new markets. I recently read that there is nearly $9 trillion in America, and £2 trillion in the U.K. Only a tiny percentage would have to go into the rare book market, including the Tolkien market, to change it completely and bring prices up to new levels. Its already happening. In 2019 I sold three Hobbit 1st/1st for £50,000- £70,000 each: record prices. All the buyers were investors, including one from Asia.

## What does the bell curve teach collectors?

![Side-by-side condition comparison of Tolkien books](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-book-condition-comparison.jpeg)

*Compare every copy you can find side by side; fewer fine examples remain on the market as the best go into collections.*

Understanding book market fundamentals is to understand distribution and probability statistics. I was never a brilliant student in any subject, too impatient to think hard about anything and more than a little dyslexic. I had a mandatory semester on statistics that filled me with dread. The first day the teacher gave workgroups of three a huge pile of a hundred acorns and told us to sort them by category. What categories? we asked. They look the same. As they appear compared to one another was the answer. They were green and brown, large and small, shiny and dull, round or misshapen and so on. The assignment was to determine the main features of the average acorn in the sample and sort them into categories based on these. The more we sorted, the more we found that certain characteristics, some natural, some not, were common to many acorns, a simple majority, while some features were indeed rare. 90% were very similar in a range of attributes, while 5% were uniquely perfect while the last 5% were the dregs of the acorn world.

Of the similar acorns, most fell within one or two increments of the rest while a smaller number within three to four. When the numbers are plotted on a graph, you get a bell curve (normal distribution), the top centre where most are similar is the mean.

There you have rare book collecting in a nutshell, or acorn shell. The point is that variations in condition of a sample of copies of a given book are normally distributed like the acorns. If I had a hundred books in front of me, I could easily sort the average condition from the dregs to the finest. You don't need to be a statistician.

I'm saying that the general elements of condition remain consistent over time, partly aging and wear, partly unnatural damage. As time passes there are more books in poorer than average condition because the best go into collections and the dregs go back on the market. What the collector tries to do is compare every sample he can find side by side (see photo) but there are fewer copies in any condition still available. I judge the condition of copies as they appear against the known distribution of categories of condition bearing in mind that fewer and fewer are coming onto the market in worse and worse condition. This is why prices go up; demand for better copies drives them up.

The few early first edition Tolkien books which come to the market are in ever poorer condition unless you are willing to spend real money. Tolkien books in fine condition are in demand and increasing affluence means that more people can now afford to indulge in the purchase of rare books. Buyers need to be realistic, however. If you thought Tolkien book prices were falling, would you even collect them? Does anyone collect worthless things? What would happen if prices for early Tolkien started to fall, or if it went out of fashion and everyone started selling books for far less than they paid? Would falling prices create new demand or would people question whether the bottom had fallen out of the market permanently? Those fans that always wanted an affordable 1st/1st Hobbit could suddenly buy one, but would they now? Any price would seem too high if prices were falling or trending down!

With enough experience, knowing when it was bought, you can predict the characteristics of an individual item, everything about it, without even seeing it. If someone tells me they bought a 1954 Allen and Unwin ‘Hobbit’ fifteen years ago, I can describe its probable condition. If the tell me they bought it last year, I can do the same. The same book published in the same year can be worth £5 or £500, £3000 or £30,000 based on the average variation in condition and the date when it was acquired. The earlier it was acquired and went into a collection, the less wear and tear it will have from circulation. After seeing hundreds and thousands of titles online and those that pass through your hands, you can become an expert simply by observation. The less experienced buy from me because I can assess a book’s true value and condition as well as the probability of another coming along. It is innate now, more an art than a science. For lifelong collectors of Tolkien or anything for that matter, this is part of the deep satisfaction, the hunt, not just the kill. As I recently told a Bitcoin investor, if collecting doesn’t excite you, well then buy Tolkien books as a speculator.

## Why collecting is more than money

To a book lover, nothing compares with finding a truly exciting example, either rare copy or rare condition. Collecting is about treasure hunting and of course that treasure has to have value. That can be sentimental value as well as monetary. I recently started reading the new version of The Letters of Tolkien where in one letter he writes about losing most members of his college poetry club to WWI. Imagine losing your closet friends from youth to the horrors of a pointless world war. There is no doubt that all Tolkien’s writing was an outlet for the pain of loss, not just superb story telling. There is a subtle humanity in Tolkien’s writing, unlike many modern works that try to be clever or gimmicky. That is why Tolkien’s works endure, and most fans have a beloved copy of one of his books they will always treasure. No, it is not all about the money.

## The charity shop story

There is also nothing more disappointing and deflating than to find out that the exciting example is not what it seemed. The thrill is the journey, learning and sometimes defeat, not just possession. A producer of a cable news channel called me to verify the value of a Lord of the Rings set. They were about to run a story on cable TV about a first edition found in charity shop worth £20,000. He thought to check it before broadcasting the film. I said it could be worth more than that but send me photos. What arrived were photos of books and jackets in tatters. Literally, the dust jackets were in pieces with sections missing as if a dog had it for breakfast. The books were equally beyond hope. Yes, it was an early printing set, but sadly totally worthless. I imagine they thought they found an old vintage automobile behind a barn that could be restored and worth thousands. Books do not work that way. After delivering the bad news (I could hear his grief over the phone) he now had to cancel the entire broadcast after hours of production. Broadcasting would have destroyed his and the charity’s reputation. I saved the day, and he thanked me profusely. What I did not tell him was that dozens of times I made similar mistakes when starting out, and that they still make me cringe.

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## The Hobbit First Edition (1937): Identification Points

URL: https://festivalartandbooks.com/guides/hobbit-first-edition-1937-identification

> How to identify a 1937 first-edition Hobbit from Allen & Unwin: copyright page, binding, dust jacket and why condition, not ISBNs or issue points, drives value.

**A genuine 1937 Allen & Unwin first-edition, first-printing Hobbit (a 1st/1st) is identified by its copyright page and dust-jacket printing history, not by ISBN numbers or issue-point jargon, but condition and a complete original dust jacket matter far more than any bibliographic detail.** Older Tolkien first editions are easy to identify: they show only one copyright date, and later printings are declared, even on the dust jacket. The same printing can be worth £50 or £5,000 depending entirely on its state.

I have sold thousands of Tolkien books since 2001, and The Hobbit remains the book most people ask about first. Dealers and fan clubs often make identification sound more complicated than it really is. The publishing data are clearly indicated in each book. What actually separates a valuable copy from a worthless one is whether it survives complete, with its original dust jacket, in a condition a serious collector would want on a shelf.

## How do you identify a 1937 first edition / first printing?

A first edition is the first printing of the first text version available to the public. For The Hobbit, that means the 1937 George Allen & Unwin hardback, the British edition, which was released first and is considered the true first edition. American and other foreign editions are, strictly speaking, reprints of the U.K. text and are not as collectable, even though America eventually had a bigger readership.

Older books show the edition by year and by printing. A first edition, first printing is referred to as a 1st/1st; the next printing would be a 1st/2nd, and so on. On a 1937 Hobbit, look at the copyright page: the first impression should show a single copyright date of 1937 with no declaration of a later printing. Subsequent impressions declare themselves, on the book and, importantly, on the dust jacket as well. This is one of the reasons Tolkien first editions are straightforward to identify compared with antiquarian books where states and variations determine value.

The book must have been printed by the original publisher and not be a cheap book club edition. Book club and Folio Society copies were printed in large numbers with low binding quality and, unless very early and in fine condition, are unlikely to hold serious collector value.

Do not rely on ISBN numbers. They apply to the original registration of a particular publication, not necessarily the first edition of that book, and the same ISBN may be reused for variations like deluxe editions or changes of cover art. There are many variations of the 1966 Hobbit that use the same ISBN. ISBNs, reset editions and number lines do not apply to rare book collecting in the way many beginners assume.

## What publisher, binding and dust-jacket features should you look for?

The 1937 Hobbit was published by George Allen & Unwin in London. The early hardbacks and their jackets were cheaply printed; despite this, they were very expensive in their day. The dust jackets existed to advertise other books from the publisher and to protect the cloth covers, not to be preserved as collectables. That attitude, combined with the book's status as a children's title, is one of the main reasons first and early editions are so rare now.

![Spine wear and fading on early Tolkien dust jackets](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-book-spine-condition.jpeg)

*Most dust-jacket wear appears on the spine, exposed to air, handling and damp.*

Most dust-jacket wear is on the spine, which was exposed to the air. With less central heating in Britain then, common dampness led to mould that discoloured jacket paper, especially the spine, ranging from deep brown to white spotting to faded title colours. Damp also caused bleed from the cloth covers onto the back of the jackets and weakened the paper, leaving spines prone to fraying and loss. The rest of a jacket can still be very nice; the original colour, though, is grey, not beige or white, as you can tell from the grey flaps where the price and reviews appear.

Completeness of the jackets is critical to value. Think in terms of the percentage of paper loss, say 5% or 10%, usually at the spine ends from being pulled off a shelf. Whole missing sections reduce value significantly. Beware digitally printed facsimile jackets sold cheaply: they add no value whatsoever compared with a set lacking its jackets, and using one to overprice a jacket-less book is not just deception, it is theft.

When judging photographs, and you should study them on a large screen, not a phone, ask to see the entire jacket laid flat, especially the spine. I was the first to show dust jackets laid flat in my photographs so that buyers could see the entire jacket's condition. If a seller has not shown the commonly affected areas, chances are you are wasting your time.

## How do condition and market factors affect value?

Condition is everything in Tolkien books, and in all modern collectable books for that matter. The older the printing, and the closer it is to the first printing, the more valuable it will be. Any printing must, however, be complete with the dust jacket and have no damage beyond normal wear and tear.

There are plenty of worn Hobbits; it is the fine ones that are truly rare. Every day someone tells me they have a special old book, and then I learn it is damaged, missing its jacket, or the jacket is severely damaged. Sadly it is then likely to be worthless, while the same book complete and in near-fine condition would be very valuable.

In 2019 I sold three Hobbit 1st/1st copies for £50,000–£70,000 each, record prices at the time. All the buyers were investors, including one from Asia. That does not mean every 1st/1st is worth that much; it means the finest copies, complete with unrestored jackets, command prices that reflect how few survive. The same book published in the same year can be worth £5 or £500, £3,000 or £30,000 based on the variation in condition.

![Side-by-side condition comparison of Tolkien books](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-book-condition-comparison.jpeg)

*Compare every copy you can find side by side; fewer fine examples remain on the market as the best go into collections.*

Supply and demand shift month by month. If there are no other similar copies for sale you will pay more; if there are plenty you will pay less. The long-term trend in Tolkien is steadily upward; I have never seen prices fall. It pays to buy from a specialist dealer with a reputation to protect rather than shopping on price alone or at auction, where condition descriptions are often inadequate and emotion can inflate a single sale.

There is a difference between dust jacket restoration and repair. Archival tape over a tear is acceptable conservation; rebuilding missing paper is restoration, and a restored jacket is worth what the item was before restoration, not what it would be in original condition. Unacknowledged restoration is deception.

## What does NOT matter for a 1937 Hobbit?

States, points and issues are variations, mostly intentional, and for some antiquarian books without copyright pages they can help identify true first printings. But for modern books like Tolkien's, first editions are clearly stated and easily identified, so variations are of interest to some buyers, and to sellers trying to inflate values.

Collecting more than one variation of the same printing is a waste of money. Condition matters most, not misprints, states and issues. There is a certain type of collector who attaches great significance to variations where none exists; avoid dealers who do the same, as it usually means they are overcharging you.

Owner signatures and small bookplates, in my professional opinion, do not affect value when overall condition is good. There is a certain charm to a hand-signed, beloved book, and many passionate collectors will agree. What matters is whether the copy was looked after, not whether a previous owner wrote their name inside.

Number lines with a '1' denoting first printings became standard on later Tolkien editions, but they are a feature of more recent publishing practice. For a 1937 Hobbit, the year-and-impression declarations on the copyright page and dust jacket are what you need; not an ISBN, not a ten-digit number line, and not dealer jargon about "states."

If you are spending thousands on a Hobbit, that is when you really need a specialist's advice. For everything else, educate yourself; it is part of the pleasure. Browse our [current Hobbit stock](/books), read the chapters below, and subscribe to our collector's newsletter.

## Further reading

- [What to Buy](/guides/collectors-guide-what-to-buy): choosing titles, judging condition and why The Hobbit suffers such high attrition
- [Where to Buy](/guides/collectors-guide-where-to-buy): specialist dealers, auctions and the bell-curve lesson on why fine copies keep rising
- [Technicalities](/guides/collectors-guide-technicalities): impressions, printing technology and what proofs are worth
- [Collecting Tolkien Books for Fun and Investment](/guides/collecting-tolkien-books-for-investment): the pillar overview on condition, supply and long-term value

*All copyright 2024–26, Festival Art and Books & Mark D. Faith.*

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## The Lord of the Rings First Edition (1954–55): Identification Points

URL: https://festivalartandbooks.com/guides/lotr-first-edition-1954-55-identification

> How to identify Allen & Unwin first-edition Lord of the Rings volumes (1954–55): printing history, impression charts, uniform wear, and why matched 1st/1st sets were never sold new.

**A genuine 1954–55 Allen & Unwin first-edition Lord of the Rings volume is identified by its copyright-page printing history, not by a matched "set" label, because the three books were never sold as a uniform 1st/1st/1st from new, and condition with uniform jacket aging matters far more than misprints or issue-point jargon.** British editions are the true first editions. The same printing of the same title can be worth £50 or £5,000 depending entirely on condition, and completeness of the original dust jackets is critical.

Professor Tolkien's masterpiece was the long-awaited sequel to The Hobbit, released in 1937. It originally consisted of five books but was reduced to three to lower printing costs. The war caused a considerable delay and the author's search for perfection exacerbated this. Even after the 1954 release of The Fellowship of the Ring he continued to make text changes through fifteen first-edition printings and on into the second printing of the second edition. Two Towers and The Return of the King were subject to the same pattern; twelve and eleven impressions respectively.

## How do you identify a 1954–55 first edition / first printing?

Older books show the edition by year and by printing. A first edition, first printing is a 1st/1st; the next printing is a 1st/2nd, and so on. On each volume, the copyright page records the printing history, year and impression number, which also influenced the royalties Tolkien was paid. This is your primary identification tool.

The three titles were printed separately. Hardback books were very expensive in the 1950s, so publishers limited print quantities until they knew the previous print run had sold out. Customers bought them as they were released or as they could afford to. New books were printed as the old ones sold, which gave Tolkien the opportunity to make text changes and corrections for each print run. At the same time the Hobbit printings were being amended so that the stories and characters aligned.

Do not rely on ISBN numbers; they are useless to book collectors. The number applies to the original registration of a particular publication, not necessarily the first edition, and the same ISBN may be reused for variations or mixed together in slip-cased sets where different impressions and ISBNs are combined in a new case.

British Allen & Unwin editions are the true first editions. American editions show the number-line system earlier than U.K. editions, but for collecting purposes the British hardbacks released first are what serious collectors want.

## What does the printing history chart reveal?

From information printed in the books, I compiled a chart of the printing history for each title. It is tempting to group them by impressions or by year, but there was a gap of fourteen months between the first Fellowship and the first Return of the King, with reprints of the first two titles also being released. What the printing records reveal is the date and quantity of allocations to bookstores. One can assume distribution must have been close to the print date, but what is not clear is how many of each individual title the bookstores were sent and how many they already stocked.

![Lord of the Rings first-edition printing history chart by Mark Faith](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-lotr-printing-history-chart.jpeg)

*Printing history chart compiled from information printed in the books: allocations to bookstores, not distribution records.*

If you walked into a bookstore between July 1954 and, say, July 1956, it would have been impossible to know the dates and printings of any set in stock. We can only speculate on the probability of availability based on original print quantities. Contrary to popular belief, the hardbacks were not best sellers. Bookstores almost certainly had leftover stocks of books and dust jackets. Many were sold as seconds, discounted remainders.

There are some surviving printers' records from the mid-1950s, but no distribution records from the publisher Allen & Unwin. Bookstores could have made their own changes, matching old inventory with new. After all, how often do you check the printing of a brand-new book bought today?

Three-book sets were sold in slipcases in limited numbers: three hundred initially, increasing to five hundred by the 1960s. These sets comprised books which varied in terms of date and could have been changed by bookstore owners combining older printings with newer ones to make their own sets.

## Why were matched 1st/1st/1st sets never available new?

It was never possible to buy a set of first-edition, first-printings. By the time the first Return of the King came out, the first Fellowship of the Ring had sold out, though one or two could still be found in bookstores with luck. A collector could deliberately seek out first editions and put a set together, but no bookshop ever offered a matched 1st/1st/1st as a new purchase.

Today, collectors want the earliest impressions of each title that could potentially have been available together, with jackets that match the books' impressions and similar aging and wear. Both books and dust jackets can be of mismatched impressions, and jackets were commonly re-used; paper and the printing process were expensive, so spare dust jackets were not wasted.

A Lord of the Rings "set" was simply whichever three titles happened to be together in a given bookstore, not necessarily matched in year or printing. Given the expense, fans probably often bought just one book at a time when they could afford it, making their sets' years and impressions even more varied. Some years had two printings. As a dealer I have seen hundreds of sets and recognise familiar groupings, but any combination is possible. Incidentally, a later printing of Return of the King would not have been combined with earlier impressions of the other two; the highest impression in a set is always Fellowship of the Ring. Where you see otherwise, a collector has compiled the set.

## What is uniform wear, and why does it matter?

I coined the phrase *uniform wear* to mean all three jackets and books sharing similar colour, aging signs and paper wear, so they present well as a set on a shelf. This does not mean they were bought together, but that they were kept together long enough to age uniformly. Serious collectors will pay much more for a uniformly aged set. Mismatched colour in the dust jackets simply does not look good on the bookshelf.

![First edition Lord of the Rings set with matching jacket wear](../../assets/guides/collectors-guide/tolkien-lotr-first-edition-set.jpeg)

*Uniform wear and aging across all three jackets suggest a set kept together.*

The Fellowship of the Ring was read more often being the first book, so it is common to find the other two titles in much better condition but usually the colour is still uniform. Matching owner signatures across all three volumes can indicate a set kept together from the outset, often a positive clue. Different signatures in each volume mean they were bought separately.

Because hardbacks were expensive, publishers used cheaper paper. Most dust-jacket wear is on the spine, exposed to the air. With less central heating in Britain then, dampness led to mould that discoloured jacket paper, especially the spine. Damp also caused bleed from the red cloth covers onto the back of the jackets and weakened the paper. The original jacket colour is grey, not beige or white, you can tell from the grey flaps where the price and reviews appear. The rarest sets I have ever sold had light-grey dust jackets, which by the second edition were dark grey.

Completeness of the jackets is critical. Think in terms of percentage of paper loss at the spine ends. Digitally printed facsimile jackets add no value compared with a set lacking its jackets.

## What about the Return of the King page 49 slip text and other "states"?

A lot of collectors make a big deal of "states" and "issues." An issue variation happens during a print run; a state is a new reprint with a variation. In modern books these are interesting but not worth more than the same books without them.

The first impression of The Return of the King has three states or versions; one of these has a slip text on page 49 being numbered as 4. Slip texts are printing errors where the paper slipped in the press. These, however, are not really states and not that important to the set's value unless all three are collected. They are unique but only valuable in the sense that they help us identify the first and early printings.

I once had a potential buyer tell me the first state of The Return of the King was the only true edition; wrong! Boy did he miss out on a lovely set. Collecting more than one first-edition variation of The Return of the King is a waste of money. Condition matters most, not misprints, states and issues. Avoid dealers who attach great significance to variations; it usually means they are overcharging you.

## How do condition and value interact?

Condition is everything. The same book of the same printing can be worth £50 or £5,000. There are plenty of worn sets; it is the fine ones that are truly rare. Damaged books, ex-library books, and those without jackets are, from a future investment point of view, worthless for now.

The few early first-edition Tolkien books which come to the market are in ever poorer condition unless you are willing to spend real money. As the best copies go into collections and only worn examples return to market, demand for better condition drives prices up. Compare every copy you can find side by side, there are fewer copies in any condition still available.

If you are spending serious money, buy from a specialist dealer with a long-established reputation. Auctions are risky: condition descriptions are often inadequate, and restored jackets have sold for inflated prices that do not reflect their true worth. A restored jacket is worth what the item was before restoration, not what it would be in original condition.

Browse our [current Lord of the Rings stock](/books) and read the chapters below before you commit to a purchase.

## Further reading

- [What to Buy](/guides/collectors-guide-what-to-buy): uniform wear, owner signatures and judging jacket condition
- [Where to Buy](/guides/collectors-guide-where-to-buy): specialist dealers, the bell-curve lesson and why auctions are risky
- [Technicalities](/guides/collectors-guide-technicalities): the full printing-history chart, proofs and advance reading copies
- [Collecting Tolkien Books for Fun and Investment](/guides/collecting-tolkien-books-for-investment): condition, supply and demand, and the long-term Tolkien market

*All copyright 2024–26, Festival Art and Books & Mark D. Faith.*