1977 folio LOTR

Reprinted in 1979 in same binding as 1977 Edition.

thanks remy, i've seen a set on ebay that i thought was a bit expensive so i started looking around on abe and found some that were a bit more reasonable. None of the listings i looked at had printing information, just stated 1977 Folio edition. So, i can rest assured that if i am buying a 1977 Folio it can not be anything but a first printing? thanks

Hi Peeta,

Not necessarily. Some sellers state the Edition year but not the printing. Just because you see 1977 listed does not 100% mean that it is actually the 1977 1st Printing. It could also be the 1979 Re-Print.

If it is the 1977 First Printing you are interested in, I would e-mail the seller in advance to clarify that it is the 1977 Printing and not the 1979 Reprint.

When I was buying this edition myself some years ago, I found some listings that were advertised as the 1977 Editions (technically correct) were actually the 1979 Re-Prints of the 1977 Edition.

No harm to e-mail first and ask for a digital photo also.

agreed 100% remy, better safe than sorry! And this exemplifies the point, made in another forum, that ABE does not have the best format.

Technically, in bookselling terms (historically), "First Edition" (without qualification) means 1st ed./1st impression (or "printing" if you want to use US terminology). The term "thus" is also used (e.g. "First Edition thus" to identify a 1st/1st where the seller is aware (or perhaps unsure) that there were earlier editions i.e it's a first impression of a particular incarnation. (Bibliographically it's a different matter.)

However (as I alluded to in another post) Abebooks is riddled with sellers who don't know or don't care about using correct terminology --& as a result you're forced to get everything clarified, less you end up with a later impression book, when the seller clearly stated "First Edition". Good sellers clearly clarify for you e.g. "First Edition (& First Impression)".

BH