Earl, I think if you could get either of the Super Deluxe Ed.'s for £125 that would be a pretty decent price; when I think back to the full price (CoH) & discounted price (S&G) I paid for my copies, they probably weren't (& aren't) worth it. The only thing I'd say to you is, if you're a Tolkien collector, you're probably not going to enjoy these leather editions that much; I mean, you're probably not going to handle them often simply because you've paid so much money for them. Of course, in this case, you're also getting an "official" signature thrown in for that price; so all-in £125 is fair I'd say.

I get far more enjoyment out of old, old leather books that I have, that are already a little battle-scarred & "pre-loved". The finish on antiquarian leather books can't really be matched by the HarperCollins' of today. Having said that, full leather is still reasonably uncommon even for older books. Coming back to Tolkien, I have a rebound half-leather 1977 Silmarillion (a modern leather rebind, but by a reputable bookbinder) & it's very comfortable to handle. I enjoy this copy more than I enjoy having the two Super Deluxe copies. Rebinds are, in my opinion, worth having if the price is right; particularly if you're just looking for that lovely leather feel.

BH

IMHO, the S&G and CoH SD editions are worth picking up at discount (I think they were actually GBP 175 on the black Friday sale, not 125 -- but could be wrong).

I technically paid 125 for my S&G (well, I actually paid 250 right back when they came out, but they sent me two copies for reasons known only to them -- and when I emailed them I heard nothing back). I think they are decent value below 200, as they are MUCH better than the standard deluxe editions. CoH in particular is really very nice. S&G is a bit bland looking but well made (except for the adhesive used to bond the clamshell together which stretches in warm climate -- easily fixed, though). Full RRP is and always was a joke for these.

You shouldn't have to pay too much for Perilous Realm. It got a Chinese reprint a year or so back and there were loads of them floating around on Ebay up until fairly recently (at a lot less than the ridiculous £75 RRP). If you want a non-Chinese one, they are probably still more expensive, I assume. I won't touch the Chinese Deluxes personally; There is something just "off" about them.

Like Khamûl, I also like rebound copies and about 10 years ago, got a bookbinder in York, in the UK to rebind some of my first editions.

I was fascinated when going to see him and discuss what I wanted for the re-bindings and to be taken back to an industry that has not changed for hundreds of years. The tools that he used were identical to a bookbinder of 100 years ago. His wife hand sewed the pages together.

I also agree with Khamûl, that this is not going to add value to the books, and could possibly reduce, but these books are very enjoyable to handle.

They are all a full Morocco binding (goat's leather).

The Hobbit is a 4th Impression.
The Lord of the Rings are all the correct Second Impressions.
The Silmarillion is a Clowes 1st Impression.

He did make a mistake on The Silmarillion, I was sent some photos showing Tolkein on the spine, fortunately he was able to correct it, as the gilt text can be changed after being stamped on the leather.

Thanks for chiming in you guys. What you say is very true - one would not really want to handle an expensive book all that much, so it wouldn't be practical for reading over and over, or like me, lying on the pillow and reading :)

All those custom bound books are beautiful by the way. I've never considered custom binding, but seeing your collections makes me think I really should.

Loving these rebind images. I have yet to go down that road myself, mostly due to costs.

We got our first edition LotR rebound by Maltby's in Oxford a few years ago. I suppose the computer in their office wasn't actually of the same vintage as the rest of their tools, but it looked as thought it was!

- wellinghall

Okay, now this seems more than a little ridiculous... Leaf by Niggle is getting its own release...

Link: https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008205539/leaf-by-niggle

It is a £3.99 paperback, hopefully no Deluxe version for next year :)

The cover is from the stage-play and it is a tie-in with that.

"Published for the very first time in its own volume, Tolkien’s remarkable tale about a painter whose obsession with detail prevents him from finishing his great work.

Niggle is a painter. Not a very successful one, partly because he has so many other things to do. For some time he has been obsessed with one particular canvas – a curious picture of a tree with a vast landscape stretching out behind it. The painting keeps getting bigger and bigger, but Niggle has a journey to make.

In 1939 Tolkien was despairing of ever bringing his great work The Lord of the Rings to a conclusion. One morning he woke up with the story Leaf by Niggle complete in his mind and wrote it down. This poignant story, about an artist on a curious journey, is often seen as an allegory of the writer’s own creative process and life.

Published to coincide with a new touring stage production of the story, this is the first time the story has been published in its own volume, enabling readers to savour one of Tolkien’s most elegant, haunting and least-known short stories."

Publication Date 28th July 2016

Heehee, that was a good one Trotter.

Yeah I've seen promotional clips of the stage play and heard good things about it.

As for the story itself, it is quite thought-provoking, and I was quite confused the first time I read it :)

I believe the intention is to release the Lord of The Rings one paragraph at a time in 2017.