American Two Towers First Edition, Later Printing

This comes from an article by Steve Frisby in The Tolkien Collector:

[On Hold -Jeremy]

Hey, thanks a lot! I'll be purchasing a set of all the back issues of The Tolkien Collector whenever they become available. I also own a copy of The Return of the King with similar markings--no dates and only "Printed in Great Britain" on the verso of the title page. I'd like to figure out the impression of this one as well if anyone has that info available.

Josh

Yes, back issues of The Tolkien Collector are also on my wants list.

ditto (Get a move on Wayne & Christina! )

Identifying the impression on US first ed. LotR seems to be a common problem. I have a copy of The Fellowship (w/o DJ, unfortunately) that has no date anywhere to be found. The verso of the title page is blank, except for "Printed in Great Britain." I am wondering if there is a similar "key" for determining the printing as Deagol has provided for the Two Towers. Is there anywhere other than back issues of the Tolkien Collector that this information can be found? I would certainly appreciate any help with this one.

Putting together an illustrated guide to identifying HM printings of LR has been on my to-do list for a long time... I'll get onto it one day...

Here is a brief guide for The Fellowship of the Ring - again this comes from an article by Steve Frisby in The Tolkien Collector:

[On Hold -Jeremy]

Did you find your copy???!!!

Finally, here is the guide for The Return of the King. This is a slightly reduced version of Steve Frisby's guide in The Tolkien Collector - I have cut out the steps for the printings that were not issued by HM.

The full guides can be found in issues 20-22 of TC. There is a lot more info to be found in them - essential reading for anybody interested in early printings of LR - British and American editions.

[On Hold -Jeremy]

For more info on which impressions HM imported from the UK see my article at TolkienBooks.net.

Many thanks, Deagol. I really appreciate the detailed and incredibly informative response. I am somewhat amazed that anyone has figured this out at all. As I was reading it, I was beginning to think I would have to decode anagrams or solve some puzzle with Fibonacci numbers that would lead me to the answer. Anyway, thanks again. I will have to check on which printing I have later tonight as I am not with my books at present.

Also, I would like to say that this forum has to be one of the best references a Tolkien collector can have. I have many times come here for some obscure bit of information that I feared I would struggle to find, but someone has always come through. There truly is a wealth of knowledge at the Tolkien Collector's Guide.