Stu wrote:
As requested, pictures of my copy (without the mylar protector). Even with this copy, one can find slight imperfections, but one has to be realistic -- these are things made out of paper and cloth that had to be bound, packaged, shipped, stored, etc. BUT, there were 250,000 copies printed -- that is a lot to choose from.

Jesus Christ... that is the most beautiful book I have ever seen. Your copy looks like it has been printed yesterday. Thank you very much for sharing the most elegant copy of the Silmarillion I have ever seen!

Is it 1st Impression and 1st Edition as well? Also, is this the Domestic or Export issue?

Lastly.... Mr. Stu, what do I have to do to get this copy from you?!!!?

The_Antiquarian wrote:

Stu wrote:
As requested, pictures of my copy (without the mylar protector). Even with this copy, one can find slight imperfections, but one has to be realistic -- these are things made out of paper and cloth that had to be bound, packaged, shipped, stored, etc. BUT, there were 250,000 copies printed -- that is a lot to choose from.

Jesus Christ... that is the most beautiful book I have ever seen. Your copy looks like it has been printed yesterday. Thank you very much for sharing the most elegant copy of the Silmarillion I have ever seen!

Is it 1st Impression and 1st Edition as well? Also, is this the Domestic or Export issue?

Lastly.... Mr. Stu, what do I have to do to get this copy from you?!!!?

Ha Ha - Sadly, not for sale! It is the first impression of the domestic (Billings) edition.

It is proof that really good copies do exist, though. I was lucky, as that was the first (and only) copy of this edition that I purchased, and I bought it - along with an Unfinished Tales 1st in the same condition - without seeing any photos.

I'm not sure if I have a copy quite that perfect (i.e. under the light there is not a scratch on it; which I suspect is how good Stu's copy really is), but it's not that difficult to find jackets which looked literally unmarked; covering correspondingly fine books. Look at the differences in spines in my collection from five years back, below. The top shelf copies are various first impressions, including signed copies. Several of these have jackets that I'd struggle to find fault with. I also bought a dummy copy a few years back which is in impeccable condition. There are plenty of nice copies out there. It's pretty simple: if you don't want a faded spine, get a photograph of this before you commit to buying (as Stu said earlier).

BH

That is such a ridiculous collection :)

And 40 years old today.

That's actually only about half of it, and five years out-of-date...

BH

Khamûl wrote:
I'm not sure if I have a copy quite that perfect (i.e. under the light there is not a scratch on it; which I suspect is how good Stu's copy really is), but it's not that difficult to find jackets which looked literally unmarked; covering correspondingly fine books. Look at the differences in spines in my collection from five years back, below. The top shelf copies are various first impressions, including signed copies. Several of these have jackets that I'd struggle to find fault with. I also bought a dummy copy a few years back which is in impeccable condition. There are plenty of nice copies out there. It's pretty simple: if you don't want a faded spine, get a photograph of this before you commit to buying (as Stu said earlier).

BH

This is the kind of collection that I would like to have in the future. A shrine with complete editions of the Silmarillion promonently displayed amongst all my other artworks! Thank you for sharing with us Mr. Khamul!

May I ask on your collecting philisophy when it comes to the Silmarillion? Do you collect only the first edition Silmarillions? How about the recent deluxe copies? Or the limited signed edition ones?

You are right that it is easy to acquite near-fine condition copies, but Mr. Stu's copy has opened my eyes. I would like a copy with dustjacket free of marks and indentation and also maintains the glossy mirror-like surface that Mr. Stu has shown us.

I'm interested in the publication & printing history of The Silmarillion generally; and my collecting mainly reflects that. I collect any UK editions. A significant area of focus has been finding & recording 1977 variants, as I have most other significant editions. There is still much work to be done...

And those spines are never on display!

BH