The Fellowship of the Ring Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954. AN INCREDIBLE EXAMPLE OF THE FIRST EDITION SECOND IMPRESSION IN ITS ORIGINAL SECOND IMPRESSION DUST JACKET OF THE FIRST PART OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS. ------------------- A truly incredible copy in completely original condition retaining its very rare original dust jacket. A very rare printing for which very few copies in first or second impression form survive in their original condition as with this example. This example is bound in the original publisher's cloth with the original second impression dust jacket with the book itself in FINE TO VERY FINE CONDITION in a VG dust jacket. There were 3,000 copies printed for the first impression run in July 1954 and 2,500 copies printed for the second impression in December 1954. This is therefore one of the first 5,500 copies of this book printed, a very significant attribute given that modern estimates put total sales figures of this book at around 150 million copies. Roughly 60,650 copies were printed through the various impressions of the first edition between 1954 and 1966, and so the majority of encountered copies of the first edition are from these later printings. This is one of the earliest obtainable copies of The Fellowship of the Ring, the genesis of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. If we also consider how many of those 5,500 are in such excellent condition complete with the dust jacket as with this, we're talking about a very small number of obtainable copies. This is a very rare opportunity to acquire one of the best copies of this first edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, easily one of the most desirable of all modern collectable books. ------------------- Size: 145 x 221 mm (approx.) Condition: [(1), 2pp, t.p., contents leaf, 4pp, 11-423, 1pp, foldout map, (1)] Original publisher's full red cloth binding, very slightly bumped to corners & extremities of the spine, but overall externally in fine condition. A truly excellent example. Binding uncocked without shelf lean, structurally secure without fault. Joints and hinges fine, uncracked. Gilt to the spine in fine condition without any fading. Page edges fine, top edge coloured red as published. No attached bookplates and no ownership inscriptions throughout, indeed, the book is entirely free of any writing, pencil, pen, or otherwise, with no signs of any having been erased/removed. The text block is in fine condition throughout. No leaves are dog-eared. No marks on any text pages etc. Completely fine condition throughout the entire text block, appears unread. Quite possibly the most excellent obtainable example there is. There is one very small spot of foxing to the blank front free endpaper and a few very small spots to the rear blank endpaper which are not intrusive at all. Truly a remarkable example of this book in condition terms. Overall, the book is fine to very fine. The dust jacket is structurally secure without any splits which compromise its structural integrity. It retains the original colour as published, with the spine panel slightly dulled, though significantly better than the typical example. Some wear along the joints as typical with very minor loss at the extremities not affecting the structure. Lightly chipped at head of DJ as often, with some minor loss at the head of the spine panel. A few small marks / areas of discolouration, but generally very presentable indeed. The turn-in flaps are near fine to fine and are very nice indeed. The verso is near fine to fine. AN INCREDIBLE COPY; THE BOOK IS IN FINE TO VERY FINE CONDITION, THE DUST JACKET IS VERY GOOD. ONE OF THE GREATEST OBTAINABLE COPIES OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST OBTAINABLE EXAMPLES OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING; A GEM OF MODERN BOOK COLLECTING. About WoodPaz Books: WoodPaz Books is an online antiquarian and rare book shop dedicated to great customer service and secure eco-friendly packaging. We know how frustrating it is to receive a book in sub-standard packaging, especially an expensive one! That's why every single one of our books is sent generously wrapped in bio-degradable bubblewrap housed in a sturdy cardboard box, irrespective of price. We mostly use Royal Mail, but occasionally use other providers for heavy orders, or orders for more than £2,500. Our books are stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment in a smoke and pet free space, handled with the utmost care and attention. We really do strive for the accuracy of our descriptions and condition reports in each listing. We aim to mention all of the main areas of the condition: the spine, hinges, joints, boards, page edges, page block, etc. We are highly knowledgeable on books and love talking about them! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. If you have any issues with any aspect of your order, please contact us first before leaving feedback and we will endeavour to rectify any issues. Our return rate is less than 1%, and many book-lovers swear by us as their source for luxury books. Thank you for considering us! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *We do not make any profit from the postage charge, this covers the cost of postage, insurance, and packaging. **International postage fees are entirely calculated by eBay's Global Shipping Program and are independent from us. Any fees resulting from the import/export of products purchased from WoodPaz Books Ltd are entirely the responsibility of the buyer. We are able to arrange a direct postage quote outside of eBay's GSP should you wish, just contact us prior to payment and we can arrange this which occasionally works out to be cheaper. [EORI Number: GB030632560000] ***We can combine postage/shipping when multiple listings/auctions are bought/won. This should be done automatically if they're all added to your eBay basket. However, if this doesn't happen contact us prior to payment and we can manually combine the postage for you. After payment has been made we are unable to make these changes for international orders - for UK orders we can usually combine this after payment has been made and refund the difference in postage costs. ****Most orders are dispatched the same day for collection the following day. Once orders are paid for we are unable to hold on to them and they will be sent to the address provided to us. As standard we allow up to 4 days for payment prior to cancellation. If you require longer for payment, please contact us in the first opportunity and we may be able to arrange for longer. WoodPaz Books LtdUK Registered Company Number: 15013487VAT Number: GB440816703 Registered Office Address:69a Barton Street, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 5PY, United Kingdom. Books are housed and posted from an address in Herefordshire, UK.