THE LORD OF THE RINGS, comprising: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING; THE TWO TOWERS; THE RETURN OF THE KING (3 VOLS)

LONDON: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd, 1960. 1st Edition 10th Impression. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. This is a lovely set of the highly sought-after fantasy classic in the first edition format, including the iconic "eye in the ring" motif. These are the 14th / 11th / 11th impressions, dating 1965 / 1965 / 1965. They are sharp cornered, have extremely bright clean gilt, do not have inscriptions and are good solid bindings. The maps are extremely clean and bright, again with no sign of handling. The classic grey dustwrappers are sharp and not price clipped, each showing a 25s price. All wrapper shave some yellowing and sunning / yellowing to spines, as per pictures, with The Return of the King having more yellowing across the front panel and with a delicate joint on the wrapper showing signs of starting to separate, but stabilised in a removable plastic sleeve. There is also some minor darker marking to the wrappers, and a short closed tear (2.5cm) to The Fellowship of the Ring front panel. Internally, these lovely volumes are all very clean. In all, these books present very well indeed. This is a collectable clean copy of the 1st ed format in original unclipped wrappers. In all, a superior set. A note about this edition: The value of the later printings in first edition format have steadily risen over the last decade as the contribution of Tolkien to culture and the scale of his achievement has been recognised. His work continues to inspire new generations of fantasy readers and watchers, and his books show no sign of dropping in people's estimations and continuing to climb in value.