Well other than the slipcase not having a smooth curve, do we know if there are other quality issues with Kullervo? Trotter stated it looked nice, but some would be disappointed it was printed in China.

Nothing about paper or binding quality or anything else that would immediately put it into the same quality as some others printed in China. Not everything printed over there is horrible, just like not everything printed in the UK or Italy is perfect.

I remember lots of angst over TFtPR and that was printed in the UK by Clays and 1st prints of The Silmarillion were plagued with the crease on the spine and that was done by L.E.G.O. in Italy.

Good points, Stu and Velmeran. Food for (my) thought

We're finally back in the U.S. Both islands were stunning, but the 50-60 waterfalls we saw spilling down literally every crack of rock on a rainy day in Milford is one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen (yes, I know that was a terribly constructed statement but I only got three hours of sleep last night -- was in the ER with my wife overnight because she's been having digestive problems since we returned.) We want to come back; we'd actually move there next year when our lease is up in Brooklyn if it wasn't for the ban on importing pet birds. Oh, well. Long term goals!

Now to bring this back to the current discussion -- would anyone recommend buying a deluxe UK edition of Beren and Lúthien and pairing it with a standard U.S. release? I'd like to get the book in hand ASAP, but I also don't want to miss the deluxe edition this time. I still absolutely adore Children of Húrin, and am regretting not buying that deluxe edition when it was more reasonably priced (though I was also working at a book store in California at the time, so I had a copy a couple weeks early. Probably why I didn't spring for the imported deluxe edition.)

I have the U.S. deluxe Children of Húrin, and because of that I started collecting some of the other Deluxe editions of other new releases from the U.K. I will probably just hang onto the CoH that I have, despite the spine title orientation (is there anything else to complain about?), and swallow my OCD.

I wouldn’t be super surprised if they did a U.S. deluxe for Beren and Lúthien, would you?

Here is another question, about the deluxe Jemima Catlin Hobbit — does it have the same problem of later printings being done in China?

Ulmo wrote:
I have the U.S. deluxe Children of Húrin, and because of that I started collecting some of the other Deluxe editions of other new releases from the U.K. I will probably just hang onto the CoH that I have, despite the spine title orientation (is there anything else to complain about?), and swallow my OCD.

I wouldn’t be super surprised if they did a U.S. deluxe for Beren and Lúthien, would you?

Here is another question, about the deluxe Jemima Catlin Hobbit — does it have the same problem of later printings being done in China?

I believe even the first printings of the Catlin Hobbit are Chinese. The printer is not stated, but it has all the Hallmarks of earlier Chinese editions (glossy paper, etc). The deluxe is essentially identical to the standard edition, bar slipcase and the colouring of the binding. It is basically an expensive clipcase :)

That’s too bad. The wraparound gold foil dragon design on the cover is nice, but, you can tell it’s cheap just from the pictures. Ah well, I should probably just get the standard one, since I mainly want a copy for my kids, and they’re just going to bang it up, anyway.

It actually isn't badly made, and the slipcase is very sturdy. But the only difference is the colour, the slipcase and ribbon marker (page block identical). So if you are cool with paying an extra £30 for that slipcase (and a bit of ribbon), it is a nice enough book. Otherwise, the standard edition definitely makes a lot more sense, IMHO.

Easton Press have produced a version of "The Story of Kullervo"

http://www.eastonpress.com/prod/9BF/3265/THE-STORY-OF-KULLERVO

May I request of anyone a picture of just Húrin-Sigurd-Arthur-Beowulf-Kullervo (deluxe) standing together?

My copy showed up today from Amazon.co.uk so was able to take a few pics of the ones you requested :)

Pics are a bit unruly in size when put in using the img tag, so will just use links....
http://i.imgur.com/VA6fWpU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cDNuli7.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/MpCivkx.jpg

Velmeran wrote:

May I request of anyone a picture of just Húrin-Sigurd-Arthur-Beowulf-Kullervo (deluxe) standing together?

My copy showed up today from Amazon.co.uk so was able to take a few pics of the ones you requested :)

Pics are a bit unruly in size when put in using the img tag, so will just use links....
http://i.imgur.com/VA6fWpU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/cDNuli7.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/MpCivkx.jpg

Thanks for posting those -- looks like the postal service has not been completely kind to some of them!