LOTR 50th anniversary Deluxe vs LOTR 2021 Illustrated Deluxe

姜太一 wrote:

Hello,

What is your opinion on the LOTR 50th anniversary Deluxe edition (9780007182367) vs the LOTR 2021 Illustrated Deluxe edition (9780008471293)?

I don't own either one, though I have other copies of The Lord of The Rings.

If you had to buy only one which would you choose?

Would there be any significant reason to buy both editions? (I may given enough time anyways haha)

I'm sort of learning toward the 50th anniversary but wanted to ask you experts if there are any issues with this edition?

Thank you for your time,
姜太一

I can only comment on the early LEGO, SpA prints of the 2004- (50th) Deluxe, but I personally like those a *lot* more than the recent Author Illustrated Deluxe. The paper (was - and perhaps still is, depending on who is printing it) much better than that used in the AI deluxe. I also just don't have a lot of time for the Author Illustrated series, given that Tolkien only illustrated one of his major works, and that was The Hobbit. He did a *great* job of it and it pains me to see it spoiled by the addition of extra illustrations that are not of the same standard, just to bump up the illustration count and sell more books.

The illustrations used in the recent editions of the other works are (IMHO) not of publication quality (for the most part) and are not especially cohesive. I think for this reason alone, the older deluxe editions are better. You are getting material that was intended for publication by the author (or at least the editor) and it doesn't feel like a bit of a mess. Sometimes less is more.

To be clear, I really enjoy these "not originally for publication" illustrations, but the Hammond & Scull books are the place I personally want to find them, rather than placed within the text.

I didn't personally find my 1st impression(s) of 9780008471293 to be well-made books (as both had faults), but if you like the "marmite" aesthetics and the downsides don't put you off, then make sure you buy at a very heavy discount. It is very overpriced at full RRP (particularly the WM version). I genuinely do like my 1st and 2nd prints of 9780007182367 and neither had any faults that I noticed.

The late Stu

Thank you very much for your information. It was very useful and confirmed my gut feeling to go with the 50th anniversary for now

Mr. Underhill

Thank you for the links 🙂