Scarlet_Sorcerer wrote:

I believe there’s three different US versions of Nature

You believe that based on what?

Mr. Underhill wrote:

Scarlet_Sorcerer wrote:

I believe there’s three different US versions of Nature

You believe that based on what?

Not Scarlet_Sorcerer but can answer that as it's based the fact that there indeed were 3 variations of of NoMe in the US; because of when it released and HarperCollins acquisition of HMH.

Initial release was published under HMH, then briefly under Mariner and finally under William Morrow.
Can see this post on reddit for a pic of all 3.

It wasn't until FoN that HarperCollins committed to the same size for HC/WM releases; prior to that HC/WM's releases in the US kept with the US hardcover sized used by HMH.

At this point in time, I'm not even sure if later printings of NoMe have changed size to match UK height or are still the US height.

Thanks for providing the context on that. Very much appreciated.

I guess Mr. Underhill is already digging the internet to find the 3 variations (if he doesn't already have them all)

Jokes aside, this Mariner logo is really classy (and particularly in this case with this Ted's illustration).

For those interested, I see that Awesome Books now has the second boxed set available for pre-order for £49.40, which is about £21 lower than the current Amazon UK pre-order price.

I finally received my copy, thankfully before Christmas. No problems with the books other than a slight, 1.5 inch long dent on the edge of one of the boards, which I was mostly able to fix by bending it back into shape and which is not noticeable when the dust jacket is on.

I was very pleased with the dust jackets. As someone who wants to display the classic, solid-color side, reversing the dust jackets was surprisingly easy to do and there is no visual defect or issues that I can see after reversing them. Of course, over time, I imagine if one ever wants to reverse them back, the creases will become more permanent and may be visible, but I don’t have any plans to do that.

Unfortunately the slipcase box, while attractive, doesn’t seem to be well-made, though that is not unexpected given the price. Mine arrived already with two cracks at two different seams, along with interior wear. And the box is a bit too tight for regular use. I can already tell that frequently removing and replacing the books is going to result in damage or unnecessary wear to either the books or the box (or both). For now I will probably keep the books in the box until I start reading through these editions, but once I start reading them I think I will leave them unboxed on the shelf to avoid unnecessary wear. I do wonder how much the cost would really increase to get a better quality box (maybe something closer to the deluxe illustrated by the author boxes). Personally I’d have been willing to pay an extra $10 for a sturdier box with slightly larger size to allow for ease of access to the books. Overall though, I am happy with this set.

Tuor son of Huor wrote:

I do wonder how much the cost would really increase to get a better quality box (maybe something closer to the deluxe illustrated by the author boxes). Personally I’d have been willing to pay an extra $10 for a sturdier box with slightly larger size to allow for ease of access to the books. Overall though, I am happy with this set.

I don't have a problem with the quality of the box, but like a lot of these boxed sets, it needs to be a few millimetres wider for the books to easily come in and out. Hopefully this will be resolved for the other boxed sets, as it is nearly correct on this one.

My set does not have any issues with cracking, but that is because I got lucky in this case on the shipping 'lottery', I bought from HarperCollins directly, and they packaged it well, this time. Probably will not be so lucky with the other sets.

I was lucky too with no damage at all. I tend to store my boxes rather than use them as I always use a paper/clear dustwrapper cover for all hardbacks with a jacket. This gives me zero chance of getting them back in but protects the especially delicate matte illustrated jackets nicely.
I get mine from here

This site uses affiliate links for which we may be compensated

CLEARSLEEVE DUST-JACKET COVER PROTECTOR BOOK 20M X 330MM

296070804985

Seller: double-b-books

(8586)

Ended Dec 31, 2023

This item ended more than 90 days ago

I like the set. I didn’t have any defects with the books or the box, although that is tight. I’m planning to keep mine showing the Howe covers. However, once I’ve got all four sets I’ll turn them once to get an overall picture of the classic look then turn them back. I bought mine through Amazon U.K. as I always do. In 20yrs of buying from them I’ve never had a damaged book.

Trotter's lottery analogy is so true. Almost every book I have ordered from Amazon UK recently has been scuffed or dented to some extent. Some I have returned others I kept. I don't buy many new from there now but use it for my buy list and lots of other things. HC are sometimes just as bad. I bought a copy of the new History of the Hobbit and they ended up sending me three all damaged and let me keep them with a full refund. That said my Chronology and Reader's Guide was spot on. Hopefully the two books due to arrive today will be in good shape.
I do find many third party sellers wrap more diligently.
Amazon used to use C1 type mailers but seem to have switched to flimsy card envelopes now.