Apologies for asking so many questions... but did the other deluxe editions in this series (LOTR, Hobbit, Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, etc.) also have different ISBNs between their first editions and later ones?

They're all the same editions, so no ISBN changes. PR only did that because of the signature; which is farcical, since it's not even on a signed plate or anything that distinguishes it from an unsigned edition that someone's put in front of AL. It makes little sense that it had its own ISBN.

BH

Oh I didn't realize that. I guess I'm wondering how to determine if a book is a first edition or not based solely on the ISBN. The only reason I care is because of the paper and binding, which from what I've read, are better in the first editions.

Sorry for being picky, but you're referring to different impressions or printings, not editions...

... but, no, you can't look at just the ISBN & determine what impression, of a particular edition, a given book is. You're going to need to look at copyright pages, or have knowledge of other factors (if there are any) that indicate what impression you're looking at. This isn't always possible with only one piece of information. For these HC editions you're referring to, I'd personally only go with copyright page identification.

BH

Thanks for correcting me :) Indeed I've been referring to the impression/printing all along.

Is it known what proportion of TftPR has the original 3-color foil (how rare it is)? I hope to soon hunt one down and while I'm not fussy about most details, I do want the 3-color foil.

St. Troy wrote:
Is it known what proportion of TftPR has the original 3-color foil (how rare it is)? I hope to soon hunt one down and while I'm not fussy about most details, I do want the 3-color foil.

2,000 copies of the original (with 500 copies being signed and having a different ISBN and information sheet).

I think the first (Chinese) reprint a couple of years back was approx. 500 copies, but have no idea whether there have been further reprints. The exact number of that first reprint is recorded somewhere in these threads.

Thanks. Sounds like the odds aren't bad.

There are several online places where you can get the first edition (with the tri-coloured foil) for about USD 300, and it goes much higher from there, depending on how greedy the seller is :)