Identifying 1st U.S. FOTR Impression
7 February
2024-2-7 4:10:40 AM UTC
2024-2-7 4:10:40 AM UTC
Hi,
I recently bought some first American editions of The Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers and The Fellowship of the Ring, and I am trying to identify their impressions. I managed to positively identify the TT as a 4th impression but I am having trouble with the FR. This is what I've got so far for FR. Please correct me if anything is wrong.
1) There is no year or impression on the copyright page so it must be a 3rd-9th impression.
2) The phrase "Printed In Great Britain", which is the only information on the copyright page, is printed in small, non-italicized capitals, so it must have been printed by Purnell. Thus it is a 4th, 6th, 7th, or 9th impression.
3) The title page mentions only Houghton Mifflin and not Allen & Unwin. Printed at the bottom of the page is "Houghton Mifflin Company Boston" with smaller text beneath it stating "The Riverside Press Cambridge". This means it is not a 9th impression.
3.1) Also, p. 414 line 28 has "hour" misspelled as "honr". This confirms again that it is not a 9th impression.
This next point I am unsure about.
4) On page 'II' of the Prologue, the words "developed" (line 28) and "seldom" (line 36) are misprinted. These particular errors suggest that it is an 8th printing.
Also, I have read that page 269 may have answers for me, but I do not know what to look for specifically. I have included an image here just in case you guys find it useful.
Thanks for any help in advance.
Best,
TJ
I recently bought some first American editions of The Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers and The Fellowship of the Ring, and I am trying to identify their impressions. I managed to positively identify the TT as a 4th impression but I am having trouble with the FR. This is what I've got so far for FR. Please correct me if anything is wrong.
1) There is no year or impression on the copyright page so it must be a 3rd-9th impression.
2) The phrase "Printed In Great Britain", which is the only information on the copyright page, is printed in small, non-italicized capitals, so it must have been printed by Purnell. Thus it is a 4th, 6th, 7th, or 9th impression.
3) The title page mentions only Houghton Mifflin and not Allen & Unwin. Printed at the bottom of the page is "Houghton Mifflin Company Boston" with smaller text beneath it stating "The Riverside Press Cambridge". This means it is not a 9th impression.
3.1) Also, p. 414 line 28 has "hour" misspelled as "honr". This confirms again that it is not a 9th impression.
This next point I am unsure about.
4) On page 'II' of the Prologue, the words "developed" (line 28) and "seldom" (line 36) are misprinted. These particular errors suggest that it is an 8th printing.
Also, I have read that page 269 may have answers for me, but I do not know what to look for specifically. I have included an image here just in case you guys find it useful.
Thanks for any help in advance.
Best,
TJ
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