The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, Return of the King

A stunning first edition, first impression set of The Lord of the Rings published by Allen and Unwin 1954–55. The Fellowship of the Ring had a first printing of just 3,000 copies, The Two Towers 3,250 copies and The Return of the King 7,000 copies, meaning that there are no more than 3,000 first impression sets to exist, many of which will have been lost or perished.

The set comes with their original first state, first impression dust jackets in beautiful condition after having had some restoration to minor chipping at the head and tail of the spines. With the usual discolouration to the spines, these dust jackets are clearly a matched set that have been kept together for many years. None of the jackets have been price clipped, and all show the price of 21s net on the inside left flap.

The books themselves are in excellent condition for their age, with no unwanted marks to the original publisher’s red cloth. The deep red colour is still just as good as ever and the red top stain to each book remains vibrant and unfaded. There is just a touch of bruising to the spine tips and base as to be expected and there is some spotting to the page edges and the usual discolouration to the end papers (as pictured). Internally there are no unwanted marks or dog-eared pages; all pages are intact and each book has a tight and square binding.

There is the same neat ownership inscription in each book, dated the year of publication in each, proving that these books have been kept together as a set since 1955. This is very rare, as these books are often mis-matched or assembled to create the best looking sets and are frequently paired with later dust jackets.

Each book has its fold-out map stuck down to the rear endpaper, each in pristine condition. The Return of the King has the signature mark 4 and sagging text to page 49. The books come housed in a stunning red leather box with gold gilt decoration and lettering, made specifically for this set by the Chelsea Bindery.

A landmark work of modern literature that went on to become one of the best-selling novels of all time, with over 150 million copies sold worldwide.

Further reference:
https://www.tolkienestate.com/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Lord-of-the-Rings