• RR Auction #397

• December 2012

• https://www.rrauction.com/PastAuctionItem/3279666

• Final price including buyer's premium: $5,104.80

Three-volume set of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, signed in the second volume, The Two Towers. Second edition, third impression. London: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1968. Hardcover with dustjacket, 6 x 9, 352 pages. Signed and inscribed on the first free end page in fountain pen, “Signed for Jim, J. R. R. Tolkien.” His daughter, Priscilla, has also signed and inscribed the first free end page. The Fellowship of the Ring is a matching edition and The Return of the King is a 1967 second edition. Accompanied by a letter of provenance, in full: “This book was a gift to my late father, Dr. James Dyson, from his good friend Priscilla Tolkien. It is signed by her and also by her father J. R. R. Tolkien.” Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG-/VG. Red cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering to spine; minor wear to edges, with one quarter-inch tear in cloth at spinehead; bump to front corner at spinehead, with corresponding creasing to textblock; few minor spots of foxing. Dust jacket has some small chips/tears and creases to edges, mostly at spinehead; few small scuffs; small area of insect damage to rear cover; lightly soiled and yellowed (darker along spine). Volumes 1 and 3 in comparable condition. While Tolkien’s signature is scarce on its own, signed editions of his masterpiece trilogy rarely come to market.