This is great news. Nice to have these matching the recent illustrated covers. The reversible dust jackets are an interesting feature but I wonder how good they will look in practice - the jackets are already creased to fit and reversing those creases could look quite sloppy I think.

This will be my third set of the HOME - I have the firsts, the India Paper de luxe versions issued in three volumes and now this set. Where am I going to find the shelf space?

Emilien wrote:

I would also add :
Sir Gawain and the green knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo, but that's also outside of the Legendarium.

Maybe Sir Gawain will come (I certainly hope so) when the deluxe stocks have been depleted.

Would also be nice to see a hardback of Finn and Hengest as well. The George Allen and Unwin first edition hardbacks are rare and usually expensive when they come up.

HarperCollins confirm that the rest of this series will be released in 2024, and the final set will be released on the 21st November 2024.

• The History of Middle-earth: Boxed Set
  
  We are delighted to announce we will be celebrating Christopher Tolkien’s centenary with a special year of publishing.
  
  Beginning in November, and continuing throughout 2024, a series of four boxed sets of hardbacks will acknowledge Christopher Tolkien’s remarkable literary achievement, with the final set appearing on what would have been his 100th birthday in November 2024.
  
  Published together for the first time, this first boxed set presents facsimiles of the original texts of The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales plus the two parts of The Book of Lost Tales.
  
  Each book will feature special double-sided dust jackets, printed on one side with paintings by John Howe and on the other with original, classic designs.
  
  These four publications marked the beginning of Christopher Tolkien’s forty-year career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on Middle-earth, a unique accomplishment that celebrates the greatest invented world in all of fantasy literature.
  

There is also this intriguing sentence, in the Facebook post announcing these boxets :

These boxed sets will be accompanied by a wealth of exciting new publishing, which we will be announcing in the coming months.

Uh-oh.

"These boxed sets will be accompanied by a wealth of exciting new publishing, which we will be announcing in the coming months".

The History of the History of Middle-earth, perhaps?

This is not speculation, rather what I'd love to see that I believe would expand Tolkien Studies further.

1. The Letters of Christopher Tolkien.

2. A biography of Christopher's life.

3. CTs notes on Middle-earth, edited by Aelfwine or Findegil and/or a companion volume to the Companion and Guide that focuses on CTs work post September 1973.

4. A book specifically on Tolkien's languages, and this one specifically edited by Aelfwine.

A HarperCollins great tales set? Sir Gawain finally in hardcover?!?

Got excited there: it’ll be interesting to see what these are as 2024 progresses.

Emilien wrote:

I would also add :
Sir Gawain and the green knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo, but that's also outside of the Legendarium.

A non-deluxe hardcover would be appreciated; still never quite figured out why a regular hardback got skipped.