onthetrail wrote:

Stu wrote:

Glad they didn't screw it up, and it is an attractive book. I've decided to give this one a pass anyway, given it is purely a reprint - the recent LoTR has soured me (again) against collecting new editions just to stick them on the shelf when there are better editions already in existence. I think people who don't have a '79 or '92 will enjoy the book though.

I am not into reprints if I have what I consider a better or equal edition but damn I am a sucker for that slipcase on this one.

Agreed - the slipcase is very nice. I prefer the '79 slipcase though, and obviously the '79 and slipcaseless '92 are much larger books.

I don't have the old editions (pretty expensive on ebay), so I'm definitely getting this one. Thanks for sharing!

I think this one is worth getting anyway but you might want to think about it if you own the 1992 edition.

If you just have the first edition then for the price I think it is worth getting this edition as well.

Trotter wrote:

I think this one is worth getting anyway but you might want to think about it if you own the 1992 edition.

If you just have the first edition then for the price I think it is worth getting this edition as well.

Probably only for the *textual* differences. The only image that differs between '79 and '92 is the prelim sketch for Hobbiton, where the '79 uses a different sketch (clearly not the intended one). The reproduction of the '79 is better than the '92 on the whole, I notice - with 34 Nargothrond being much better printed in '79. So, really depends on what one wants from the book, I think. For large format images, I think the '79 probably can't be beaten.

Thanks for the pics Trotter. I was on the fence about it as well, as I already have the '79 and '92 editions. The boards do like quite nice out of the slipcase don't they...

I have decided to order, if only to shelve it next to Art of LOTR and Art of the Hobbit.

It has very nice high quality scan, some images have wonderful bright colours.

Trotter if you put the earlier editions side by side with the new one, is the image quality improved on the new one or about the same?

Stu wrote:

@trotter if you put the earlier editions side by side with the new one, is the image quality improved on the new one or about the same?

All the images are now digital scans, so the colours look different from the original images. It also allowed them to be easily resized.

Wow, that really has changed colour hasn’t it. I can’t see the original and ‘92 book close up or otherwise but I do like the new editions colour.

I took for comparison pictures of the digital scan of TAI#104,22,50 in

1. The Art of the Hobbit/The Art of the Lord of the Rings
2. Maker of Middle Earth + Voyage en Terre du Milieu
3. new Pictures

In the Catalogues colours are definitely better.