Canadian/Australian Printings

Berelach wrote:
I hope this question isn't too vague, but can anyone tell me if, in general, did (does) Allen and Unwin (Unwin paperbacks, Harper Collins, etc.) export their Tolkien publications to Australia and Canada, or do they print them in those countries. Or maybe I should ask, which practice was more common? I realize the book will typically say where it was printed (usually on the copyright page) but there are some Canadian and Australian versions of, for example, The Lord of the Rings that seem to be identical to the British versions and state that they are printed in Great Britain. How does one tell them apart?

I would say that export was far more common, but there have been exceptions.

Can't speak too much to the Canadian side, but there have been specific Australian-market printings during the HarperCollins period. These are very much exceptions, rather than the rule.

There was a "superdeluxe" Alan Lee signed One volume LOTR that was for Australia (250 copies), which was basically the same as the UK limited edition, with the exception of some minor details. My assumption is that that one was printed at the same time and location as the UK edition, but I might be wrong (and I don't have a copy).

Children of Hurin and S&G Australian editions were printed in China/Hong Kong and are slightly different than the UK Counterparts in terms of production -- S&G has black boards (vs brown) and the CoH has boards made from a buckram-like material, rather than paper. So far as I am aware, this only applies to the first printings, and subsequent printings were just the regular UK editions exported.

There seem to have also been some variants for NZ and most likely Canada (I never saw a copy in Australia), including paperback printings of of the three-volume LOTR with ragged-edge paper, which - from memory - were printed in the USA for HarperCollins.

I can't speak to the harper Collins editions, but can say that in Canada (in the west at least) you often find Houghton Mifflin and Unwin Allen editions of the same titles. The Silmarillion for example is probably more common in the UA format than the HM; and the same can be said for earlier editions of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.