Trotter wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

To those who have the deluxe. Is the artwork reproduction better than in the trade?

The paper is the same in both books and I can't see any difference in the illustrations.

Thanks Trotter. I may well cancel the deluxe in that case.

onthetrail wrote:

Stu wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

I finally received the trade. Not very impressed with the reproduction of the artwork. At £60 RRP I would expect the images to be reproduced in their best form and not have the text from the next page showing through. The cover is nice minus the sig as Stu only pointed out one time

To those who have the deluxe. Is the artwork reproduction better than in the trade?

None of the Rotolito-printed books in the last couple of years have had good image reproduction. I wonder if they are simply not set up for it. The illustrated UT and Sil are nice books in many regards, but the image quality is crap. For the Sil, I can't imagine ever picking it off the shelf vs just looking at the prior edition.

I was comparing the Silm/UT verses this new trade Rings and everything about those earlier releases are better imo. The paper used is nicer to the touch, feels more premium, the images look better too. Not great but better.

I have the Deluxe version of the Hobbit , and the quality of the paper seems good as well as the reproduced pictures , some of which found themselves in this latest lord of the rings , however the paper in the standard edition doesn’t feel that good I agree , I don’t know about how it compares to the deluxe version as it was a little out of my price range , plus to me the standard copy does seem better , someone said that the Red edges seems very bright , but in hand it looks fine , I prefer the red over the gold , far too many special editon books going with gold edges , so they all look the same , at least the red edging with the with the white lettering along the side give the book some individuality.

Tolkienreader2021 wrote:

I have the Deluxe version of the Hobbit , and the quality of the paper seems good as well as the reproduced pictures , some of which found themselves in this latest lord of the rings , however the paper in the standard edition doesn’t feel that good I agree , I don’t know about how it compares to the deluxe version as it was a little out of my price range , plus to me the standard copy does seem better , someone said that the Red edges seems very bright , but in hand it looks fine , I prefer the red over the gold , far too many special editon books going with gold edges , so they all look the same , at least the red edging with the with the white lettering along the side give the book some individuality.

My interest in this edition was how the images worked with the text so I would have preferred they put more into that than gold/red edges and the paper really doesn't do anything for me. The trade is nice enough, though I agree with Stu about the signature, and the red edges? I honestly feel like I am buying a book for a 6 year old, which is fine, I just don't like it for thos edition personally.

All things considered I have cancelled the deluxe. If it had topnotch illustrations then I would have bitten but those pages are not deluxe worthy imo. Skip the gold edge, the fancy outer box, the signature, even the slip, and produce the artwork in the best form we can own in book form.

I think Stu might be correct about Rotolito not being setup for it.

If you have a problem with the book and it has faults in it. This is the advice from HarperCollins.

If people do find their purchase is faulty they should always, in the first instance, contact the seller for a replacement or refund. If this fails to elicit the desired response, our Customer Service team can then investigate on their behalf.

Getting reports this morning of a buyer receiving the deluxe with the pages of Mazarbul missing over on FB. That's the first I've heard of this happening. Hopefully that is a one off.

Mr. Underhill wrote:

Getting reports this morning of a buyer receiving the deluxe with the pages of Mazarbul missing over on FB. That's the first I've heard of this happening. Hopefully that is a one off.

While frustrating, that error should be relatively easy to resolve. I can't help but think that the global supply issues and the large increase in order size by HarperCollins to meet perceived demand have caused these QC issues.

I just received my copies of the deluxe and trade editions, and, fortunately, both appear to be in decent shape upon initial examination.

Newbie here. I'm I right in guessing that the map designed box it came in adds value if that is kept?

It may do, as both boxes are 'interesting' to collectors, I think people would prefer copies with them but whether in future it makes a significant effect is unknown.

It makes sense to be careful with the box and store it.

Not everyone will keep the box (or will accidentally lose it/damage it over time), and I think they are interesting enough that future collectors will want them, so I agree with Trotter.

Definitely keep the box if you have any expectation of wanting to sell the book in the future.

(Also probably don't expect these to be an investment, 'cos lots printed -- and reprints likely to be available forever)