23 Jul, 2010
2010-7-23 7:21:46 PM UTC
Hi everyone,
I have long liked the look of the folio editions of Tolkien books, but the UK site only has the Hobbit available right now, and second hand sellers all seem to be in used condition.
Something that has peeved me for a good 12 months is how the US Folio site has an introductory offer where you can get LOTR, Hobbit and Silmarillion for $10:
http://foliosociety.org.uk/folio/tolkien.phpNow what's to stop me from getting someone in America to sign up for this offer, then complete the membership by (for example) buying 4 more Tolkien's (Hobbit perhaps) all of which I pay for. Next they post over to me, and I sell the 4 Hobbits and keep the rest?
Possible issues:
1) Would these US editions be any different to the UK editions? They look the same but I'm guessing they would differ in some way.
Or am I just crazy, and should I just keep an eye out for nice copies here in the UK on ebay etc?
Thanks again
29 Jul, 2010
2010-7-29 1:34:11 PM UTC
I am not 100% sure, but I believe you are following an old link. I don't think that Folio currently has The Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion available for sale. I live in the US and this offer is not shown as current when I go to the Folio site. In fact, I believe it has been a couple years since the offer was available, and it was sans Silmarillion.
In my opinion, the most recent Harper Collins slipcased editions (
http://www.tolkien.co.uk/titles/40805 ... -r-tolkien-9780007273560) available from Amazon are nicer editions than the Folio ones anyway. I am not a fan of the illustrations in the Folio editions, and I also find them to be cheaper quality. While I do like the ornate paper on the Folio editions, I have found that the stamped images on the covers scratch and rub off easily. They are still good books, but they simply don't feel as nice in my hands as the Harper Collins Deluxe books.
As far as illustrated editions go, for my money, I would go for the Alan Lee / Ted Nasmith set.
29 Jul, 2010
2010-7-29 5:30:16 PM UTC
The HarperCollins slip-cased The J. R. R. Tolkien Collection is nice but I can't recommend paying £200 for it, which is the current price on the website.
I bought my set when HarperCollins were offering 30% off (the set was £140), a big saving in this case.
There is a chance that this offer is likely to be available again from the website.
Andrew
30 Jul, 2010
2010-7-30 9:00:20 AM UTC
Thanks for the input. As it happens, I just bought a 2002 set of LOTR folio editions on eBay for an amazing £32 plus postage, largely due (I think) to a listing error in the title. I then snapped up the hobbit for a tenner so I've only got the silmarillion to go!
As for the Tolkien deluxe set, I've decided to get it book by book from thebookdepositry.co.uk where it will cost just £140. I've ordered LOTR but will have to wait for more funds before I get the rest! Obviously no slipcase but for £60 I can live with that, and since I plan on getting the further deluxe editions, it wouldn't sit right on my shelf in a slipcase anyway!
From Sept (when my new promotion kicks in) I will have £200 a month to devote to Tolkien books, so give me a year or so guys and I should have some niceities to share with you all!
30 Jul, 2010
2010-7-30 11:43:07 AM UTC
(I know I already mentioned this to you bruffyboy...) While the HarperCollins J. R. R. Tolkien Collection is a nice slipcased collection, it is now not in it's first release format; if you care about this.
According to Beren, who I would think was informed by the publishers, only about 50 of the '1 of 500' actually had the original impression combination: all 1st impressions, LotRs 2nd impression. The remaining assembled sets (of 500) all had a 3rd impression of LotRs. Additionally these were all sold out (--which as I think about it, actually sounds quite unlikely, but...) The sets now on sale are more than likely another 500; only CoH and The Silmarillion are likely to be 1st impressions. The Hobbit is likely a 3rd imp. or later; LotRs 4th or 5th imp.
£140 was a very good deal at the time. Unfortunately most people probably had all the books anyway...
BH
30 Jul, 2010
2010-7-30 1:24:25 PM UTC
I picked up my harper collins set book by book, as they were released (all from Amazon UK. So, I don't have the all inclusive slipcase, but all the books are individually slipped anyway. It's a pretty attractive set on the shelf and Tales from the Perilous Realm and Sigurd and Gudrun are available in this format. This makes it the most comprehensive (nearly) matching set of Deluxe Editions you can put together. I agree that the HC price on their website is too high, but you can piece the set together from various other places. Keep an eye on ebay for the less popular titles, as I have seen some of them go for pretty cheap (CoH, TftPR, S&G, and even the Sil).
It is unfortunate that first printings will be difficult to come by for the Hobbit and LotR, but I question the investment potential of these editions anyway. I like them on my shelf, or in my hands, not in my closet waiting for the value to increase. This is simply an attractive, well constructed (sewn binding) reader set, that I expect to endure the test of time. Until the publishers decide to produce truly limited editions (of only 100, maybe 200 copies), I don't expect any new editions to be a great financial investment. The Super Deluxe Children of Hurin is close to being there, but the Super Sigurd is nowhere near.
15
2869