pic 2

the glue

horrible centering.

Not sure if the other deluxe books have slipcases done this way or not but found it interesting. You'll note the slits do come around to the other side of the slipcase wrap so they are visible when on the shelf.

Tapuvae (Chris) wrote:
Not sure if the other deluxe books have slipcases done this way or not but found it interesting. You'll note the slits do come around to the other side of the slipcase wrap so they are visible when on the shelf.

I saw that on the picture you posted up. Interestingly on the copy I had, the book sat further out and they were not visible on the inside (with the book in place). The slits right on the edges were visible and looked bad. My copy also had the bad centering of the title.

FWIW my upside-down bound copy actually had the title centered on the spine

By the way, no other 1st print Deluxe has those slits showing on the front of the slipcase (my Kullervo had it too). Take it as a special feature.

I emailed HarperCollins just to let them know about the observed problems with the Kullervos. Not sure I'll necessarily hear anything back, but hopefully it will get taken on board how badly they have turned out, so - perhaps - B&L will be a bit better.

Tolkien.co.uk seem to have the FF Hobbit back in stock, which may imply that it is a second print.

http://www.tolkien.co.uk/product/9780 ... +Facsimile+First+Edition+

If anyone happens to get a copy, would be interested if (a) there are any changes to the book, and (b) where it is printed, and by whom.

Edit: Book Depository has it back in stock, so I think we are definitely onto the second impression.

My run of good luck in shipping comes to an end...

I've had better luck with Amazon UK (50% success) than BD (10% success). Still, I can't believe its cheaper for them to deal with a bunch of returns than to use packing material.

Also an update on Kullervo Deluxe: my replacement copy arrived. The slipcase is as ugly as always, but if you can believe it the title on the spine is centered. There was some glue residue on the top and bottom of textblock which I was able to carefully remove.

There is some mimimal defect where it seems too much orange board material was used on the inside face of the cover near the top edge where it folds, so some of it is loose rather than sharply cut. I guess I could try to fix it but whatever.

Overall, it is still inferior to the other first prints and the material feels cheap, but I will keep it since I got the initial order for half-price (barely worth it).