5WS; First Edition Set: The Fellowship of the Ring (8th Printing, 1959), The Two Towers (6th Printing, 1959), The Return of the King (8th Printing, 1961); With an Original Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien during his tenure as a Professor at Oxford in 1965.
This rare and exceptional first edition set of The Lord of the Rings includes three volumes, each an early printing: The Fellowship of the Ring (8th printing, 1959), The Two Towers (6th printing, 1959), and The Return of the King (8th printing, 1961). The volumes are bound in matching red cloth with all three including the original fold-out maps of Middle-earth on back end papers; maps in excellent condition. This is a one-of-a-kind Tolkien collectible, blending the rarity of early printings with the personal touch of the author himself.
What truly sets this set apart is an original letter from J.R.R. Tolkien, written during his tenure as a professor at Oxford, which is neatly pasted onto the inside cover of The Fellowship of the Ring. The letter is a response to fan mail from a "Mr. Eder" that includes a typed post-script from Tolkien. The letter is dated 20 May, 1965 on Tolkien's personal stationary with the heading "Professor J. R. R. Tolkien/ 76 Sandfield Road/ Headington/Oxford" and reads:
"Dear Mr. Eder,/ Thank you very much for your kind letter. I am always pleased to hear from people who have read and enjoyed my books. I hope they will continue to give you pleasure./ Yours sincerely, J. R. R. Tolkien/ p.s. Thank you very much for sending me the pictures of stained glass win-dows which I was very interested to see./ An American firm called Ace Books has issued an edition of the Fellowship of the Ring. You would do me a kind-ness if you would note, and let friends who might be interested know that this is a pirate edition, produced without my knowledge or consent and from which I receive no payment whatsoever. JRRT."
Fellowship: Strong wear and rubbing along the bottom edges of the binding. Gold embossed title and author on the spine.Half inch tear on spine in top right corner; cloth on left side of the spine is torn along the length of the spine. Binding beginning to break away from spine. Glue from the Tolkien letter has begun to fail from the left top corner. Letter is still attached to cover. Easily repairable breakage. Discolored water spot on the top corner of front cover.
Two Towers: Some wear and rubbing on the red cloth corners and tops and bottoms of spines. Silver embossed title and author on the spine. Some slightly faded/discolored water spots on front and back covers.
Return of the King: Some wear and rubbing on the red cloth corners and tops and bottoms of spines. Gold embossed title and author on the spine. Some slightly faded/discolored water spots on front and back covers.
The set includes facsimile dust jackets.
