Friday 4 October 2013

The Tolkien Book Guide - With values, information and more! PHOTO GUIDE Repost


Here is an updated and extensive summary of Tolkien's most popular works complete with values for each edition published.
I have tried to put my experience as a Tolkien collector into the post so I hope it can be read with trust and belief.
I also hope it helps you in some way as a book collector or just purely for interest!

A little background

J.R.R Tolkien is one of the best selling authors of all time and not just because of the big money film franchises that arrived post 2000.
He also happens to be one of the most valuable to book collectors and is my favorite author of all time.

When Tolkien's revolutionary 'The Hobbit' arrived on bookshelves in 1937 , it redefined fantasy and introduced the genre to a new audience. Some consider it to have been the Harry Potter of the time.
The popularity was so great that his publisher requested a new series and thus The Lord of the Rings came about.

Many believe this to be the greatest fantasy trilogy of all time, containing themes and influences that range from mythology to religion and even to Tolkien's hatred for industry.
Whilst writing The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien amended The Hobbit with several inclusions to make the narratives link better and when the first part of The Lord of the Rings was finally released in 1954 it also received the acclaim that The Hobbit had.

Tolkien also worked on several smaller novels including 'Smith of Wootton Major' and 'Farmer Giles o Ham' and left a legacy for his son, Christopher Tolkien to work upon.
The Tolkien empire is now vast with films still set to be released and edition after edition of his works being printed for new audiences.

Look for George Allen and Unwin as the publisher for a guaranteed valuable as they were his original publishers and ran until the late eighties.

The Hobbit



Published in 1937 with a very limited print run, this book is Tolkien's most famous and arguably the most famous fantasy book of all time.
Originally written for children but now touted as an adult friendly book due to advanced themes and lexis, this book is one of the most collected of any fictional works.



Look out for hardback copies with the dust jacket that are pre-1975 for real value.
Below are a selection of the editions of The Hobbit currently available and what they might be worth:

George Allen and Unwin Hobbit

The original Hobbit book with the Iconic dust jacket.
This design ran from 1937 up to 1975 with only minor alterations and as such is the classic Hobbit edition.

The first editions can reach over £6,000 at auction whilst later impressions drop to £20 approx. Here's a quick value guide for the George Allen and Unwin illustrated Hobbit:

First Edition/ Impression 1937 - £6,000+
First Edition 1932-1946 - Between £400 and £1,000+
Second Edition 1951-1965 - Between £80 up to £300 
Third Edition 1966-1975 - Between £15 and £80 


Editions with dust jackets and in good condition sell for the most





Folio Hobbit

This recent Folio edition is worth between £10-£20 despite the lovely covers, fine binding and black and white illustrations



Deluxe Edition

These versions started in 1976 and are known for their incredible quality throughout from the luxurious binding to the incredible cover designs.
This is THE edition for the collector.
Worth up to £200 for the first edition to at least £50 for last editions


Longmans Edition

A more obscure edition, this version was created primarily for schools.
Worth between £50 for a first edition and under £10 for a later edition.


The 1975 Hobbit paperback
This book is a a particularly rare year and contains colour illustrations and the unique cover design.
Worth up to £10


The Vintage Paperback

This is the classic paperback edition with covers using a drawing from Tolkien's own hand.
Starting in 1966 this edition ran to the mid 1970's.
Values range from £5 up to £20 for the first impression of this edition


The First Paperback edition

This is the very rare 1961 first paperback.
With a never used before or after cover illustration and poor quality binding, these books are growing rarer and rarer.
Valued at £25 for a poor condition version to £100 for one in very fine condition.


The Guild Publishing Deluxe edition

This rather nice looking copy has a uniform Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion also and is one of the more unique copies.
Prices vary from £10 for a poor condition edition to over £60 in some cases.


The 50th Anniversary Edition

The 1987 50th edition is one of the most collected recent editions.
Valued between £10 and £25


The 1978 Fourth Edition

The fourth edition may not be quite as collectible as the third, second or first editions (all of which have the classic iconic covers) but is nonetheless sought after.

Valued at between £10 and £25


The Michael Hague edition

This particular edition has some of the nicest and most elaborate illustrations of any yet published.
A large book and with completely unparalleled presentation, this book can be worth up to £30 for a first impression and as low as £5 for a later poor condition copy.






Earlier Folio

This particular folio edition is the middle edition between the 1979 deluxe and the 1990's popular Folio in terms of value.
Prices range from £10 to £30 in rare cases


The Hobbit 3D

One of the most unique editions of The Hobbit is this rare Pop-Up edition complete with 3D Smaug
Valued between £10 and £20



Anniversary (75th) with Slipcase

The Deluxe Anniversary edition is a facsimile replica of the original First Edition and is a very nice copy to own.

Valued at £10 to £15

Guild Publishing edition

Another rare GP edition with fine binding
Worth between £10 and £20



Guild Publishing edition

And another GP edition, worth slightly less than the above edition but still a nice rare copy to own.

Valued between £7.50 and £15



The Modern anniversary edition

This 1990's edition is a nice modern revamp of the classic edition and worth up to £10 in some cases



The modern Paperback

The standard modern paperback is ideal for children to read.
Worth generally less than £1 unless a first print of this edition in which case it could be worth up to £10


Limited Box Set

This rare boxset contains a unique edition of the book and many other extras including postcards, a CD with Tolkien reading excerpts and adverts.
Worth between £15 and £30




The Lord Of The Rings

Few trilogies have had such influence as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
The amount of work and time Tolkien invested into this set of books is incredible - so detailed in fact that his son managed to create a series of twelve books just referring to the fictional world of Middle Earth that Tolkien created.

Needless to say these book are hugely collectible, with nearly as many editions published as there have been printed of the Hobbit.
It is popular for publishers to condense the three books into one volume.

The First Edition

The first editions of LOTR were published in 1954, 1954 and 1955 (sequential).
Issued with the now famous dust jacket design and containing a large fold out map at the rear of the book, these editions are immensely sought after and valuable.
True firsts can be worth in excess of £1,000 for one book, with sets selling for £6,000 plus.

Later impressions such as the 1957 edition below can be worth between £30 without dustjacket and up to £150 in very fine condition




The Later Second edition

This edition looks quite akin to the first edition and is in most aspects, even having the map at the back.
Unfortunately these aren't worth anywhere near as much ranging from £200 for a very fine first impression of the second edition set to under £5 a volume for later impressions without d/js


The Deluxe Edition


As with the Hobbit Deluxe edition, this is one of the nicest versions available with stunning covers and an overall high presentation quality.
Printed on the ultra-thin India Paper (Bible paper), these books can range from £30 in poor condition up to £250 for a first edition.
A set of this book and The Hobbit can add value also.


The Guild Publishing Deluxe edition

As seen with The Hobbit, this edition is unique compared with most other editions, having faux leather covers and a nice gilt deign.
Can be valued up to £45 for a first impression down to £10 for a later in poor condition.



Alan Lee Illustrated

The later editions illustrated by Alan Lee are particularly nice although often too heavy to post viably on eBay.
With an R.R.P of £50, this large luxurious edition contains countless full page colour illustrations if incredible quality and is quite the copy for fans.

Valued at between £10 and £50 for the first edition.



Unwin Hyman/ Later editions

These later editions of LOTR were produced during the late 1980's to the early 1990's and are reasonably collectible
Individually approx £5 and up to £30 for a very fine set


Guild Publishing Deluxe

Another GP edition but one that is rather rarer than the red cover version. Also available as The Hobbit and The Silmarillion in this form, these can be worth between £15 and £30.


Modern Centenary paperback 

Alan Lee's illustrated LOTR is also available as a paperback set of large, heavy high quality books.
Expect a set to reach approx £10 if sold online due to high postage prices relating to the weight of the books.


The Vintage Paperback

This iconic paperback was first printed in 1968 and comes as a hardback also.
Worth the price for the covers alone, these can vary from under £5 for a later impression to £30 for a very fine first impression.


Later hardback compilations
There are many editions like this, each containing all three books with relative quality.
These can be worth from as low as a few pounds up to £10 for a very fine first impression.



Modern Paperback

Modern paperback editions are worth less still and only ideal as reading copies or for children/ young teens.
Worth as little as 99p and up to £5 for a very fine first impression.



 The Silmarillion


Tolkien's other great work is The Silmarillion.
Although by no means as popular as the previous two titles discussed above, this book is a nice addition to the Middle Earth franchise, first published in 1977.

First Edition

The Silmarillion actually has three first editions being the William Clowes, the Billing and Sons and the Book Club Associates, each coming with the blue dust jacket and fold out map at rear.
Each is identifiable by examining the print details page and must show first impression as stated.

The most valuable two are the Clowes and the Billing editions which can be a vlued at up to £30 each.
The BCA edition can reach £15 with d/j.

Later impressions vary from a few pounds up to £15


The Guild Publishing Deluxe

As seen above, this version also runs for the Silmarillion.
A nice copy can reach £25 but is usually valued at £10-£15

Unfinished Tales

Another of Tolkien's later works, this book was of Tolkien's lesser writings.

The First Edition

The first is much akin to The Silmarillion and can be known to reach £25 at auction for a very fine first impression.




 The American First edition

As with all of Tolkien's other books, Houghton Mifflin picked up the publishing over in the States and produced a range of Tolkien's works.
These can also be quite valuable although not quite as valuable as George Allen equivalents.

The copy below is valued at £15 approx.


Smith of Wootton Major

This short story is often described as 'charming' and quite rightly so! It is very small and contains lots of b/w illustrations.

A first edition can be worth up to £25 whilst later editions can be bought for as little as £5

Farmer Giles of Ham

The last of Tolkien's original classics, this short story is quite alike to Smith of Wootton Major.
Equally nice in terms of illustration and story, the first of this is much rarer and can be valued at low hundreds.
Later impressions from the early 70's can reach £15


Later Hardback Edition

Later editions can still be worth a little such as the copy below which can fetch between £5 and £10.



 The Book Of Lost Tales

Part of the Shaping Of Middle Earth set pioneered by Chrsotopher Tolkien, these two are quite collectible as a set.
Combined values in both first impressions - £40 if fine condition.
Some of th series are worth more whilst others less - these are quite collectible however and a complete set of all 12 can be worth £1,000 if all first impressions..


The Children Of Hurin

A much more recent book, this one was printed with help from Christopher Tolkien once more.
Standard first editions rarely sell for more than £5 but the deluxe edition below, signed by Alan Lee the illustrator can be worth over £50.







Tolkien related

There are countless Tolkien inspired or related texts such as The Art Of The Hobbit which looks into Tolkien's illustrative capabilities.
Valued at £10-£20.



The Shaping Of Middle Earth Series

As menioted already in this post, these twelve books are worth varying amounts but are generally worth a minimum of £20 if in first edition state and with dust jacket.
Several, such as The War Of The Jewels can be worth hundreds for their rarity.




The Letters Of J.R.R Tolkien

This one-off book printed showing correspondence from Tolkien is a hidden gem, fetching up to £40 in some cases if a first edition although generally worth £10 to £20.



 Other Titles

Some books, such as the one below, are printed with a small niche audience in mind and are of varying quality. The Book below is worth approx £5.



And there it is!

I hope this guide was in some way helpful and well done if you got this far!

As usual please share, comment and do anything else you can with this blog except for copy it without permission!)



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