The Return of the King, Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. London: George, Allen & Unwin, 1955.
FIRST EDITION FIRST IMPRESSION IN THE ORIGINAL PUBLISHER'S BINDING, WITH THE ORIGINAL FOLDOUT MAP.
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A fantastic copy of the first edition first impression of The Return of the King, the third part of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, this being one of only 7,000 copies in the original print run, of which a much smaller number survive in acceptable condition.
This copy collates as complete, including the original foldout map. This copy does lack its original dust jacket, but this copy seems to have lacked this for almost, if not all of, its entire life, as there is no offset toning to the endpapers which would indicate this, and so it seems like the original owner likely discarded the dust jacket, the sunning of the spine also being a strong indicator of this. Nevertheless, it is a much superior copy of one of the most important works of the 20th century, a book which is becoming increasingly rare as time passes and whose value has increased hugely in the last few years.
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Size: 148 x 228 mm (approx.)
Condition:
[(3), h.t., t.p., 416pp, foldout map, (1)]
Original publisher's red full cloth binding, a little rubbed, but generally very presentable, some light shelf and edge wear, corners a little bumped. Spine uniformly sunned. Binding slightly cocked, but secure, with joints and hinges all secure, uncracked, with both boards securely attached, the binding secure, and without shelf lean. Collated as complete including the foldout map. The foldout map is original and has not been replaced, the paper possessing the correct watermarks etc. No attached bookplates, no ownership inscriptions or any writing anywhere throughout. Endpapers toned with some light foxing, the text block free of foxing, and generally clean and bright. The toning of the endpapers without the offsetting typical with the continual presence of the dust jacket, indicating this has been missing for most likely the book's entire life. Lacks original dust jacket, else original and complete.
