Today I share a nice (and quite rare) Italian 2nd edition of Journeys of Frodo, published by Rusconi Libri in 1997.
The 1st edition (unfortunately not in my possession) retains the cover of the original version
Quick share of my pride and joy since the latest addition of my grail, the Portuguese edition of The Hobbit.
Very excited to have completed my set of the wacky as hell, unauthorized editions printed by Ace publishing in the mid 60s due to a copyright loophole.
I'm gonna get the deluxe great tales in June and eventually the Alan Lee deluxe Perilous Realm and FoN when those come out. I can only think of adding Mr Bliss, Letter from FC, Annotated Hobbit and The Hobbit by Jemima Catlin. I don't wanna waste money on books that are just walls of text like NoME or HoME series.
First Italian edition (3rd impression) printed by Rusconi in 1971 with its iconic two-tone dust jacket
Specifically, the pictured edition. I bought this two-volume set when I lived in Korea a decade ago, and at some point since then I managed to lose them. From what I can tell it's now out of print, and I'm struggling to find used copies online. Would appreciate any help!
Recently started collecting older editions. Started with Fellowship and Towers second editions I found tucked away in a charity shop and grew from there. The 1988 Unwin Hyman with cover illustration by Roger Garland being the most recent. I'm hooked!
The product description is currently the same as the standard hardcover, so it’ll be neat to see what makes it ‘special.’ So no we’ll have three different hardcover variations, going from cheapest to priciest: standard W/ dustjacket, this, and the deluxe.
On the publisher’s website, they call it a ‘Special Edition’ and here’s the nitty-gritty details (this is a copy + paste, I hope it formats correctly)
Title: The Fall of Númenor: and Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth
Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien, Illustrated by Alan Lee, Edited by Brian Sibley
ISBN: 9780008848842
Imprint: HarperCollins
On Sale: November 5, 2026
Trimsize: 149x228mm
Pages: 352 pages
List Price: £45.00
I'm almost done reading the History of Middle Earth series. I bought the series many years ago but only now did I find the time to finish them.
My mistake? I bought the wrong edition. I have the separate HarperCollins paperbacks from 2002, with beautiful Howe cover illustrations.
But.
Unfortunately the paper quality sucks. I would not ordinarily complain, but in this case it results in many of the copied original manuscripts and maps end up unreadable, a mess of black ink.
In addition page 105 and 106 of Morgoth's Ring are missing. So I bought another copy of the book, a 1994 edition (I guess the original?) and the difference is dramatic. There's only one manuscript page but it's incredible in comparison.
So folks, if you want the paperbacks avoid the Howe editions. I really regret not being able to see more of Tolkien's own hand clearly.
Hi i recently got the urge to start reading this series. The lotr movies are some of my favourite movies of all time. I've never really read much as i struggle with dyslexia, but recently i've felt i both really enjoy reading and gotten a lot better at it.
I'm looking to read at least The Hobbit through The Silmarillion need a bit of help finding the right editions for me. I've looked through a lot of different editions the past week, but since there are so many I struggle to understand the difference, which editions include what and generally remembering every one.
I'm a huge fan of hardcover books, and its kind of important to me how the books look on the shelf. I love when all the books match and look a bit elegant maybe(?), i like when they are kind of clean. I tend to enjoy them better without the dust jacket on. I do however like how the once illustrated by Alan Lee looks.
I am also looking for a one volume for lotr, since i heard that that is the way Tolkien intended. But the most important thing for me is that they can survive a long time. I'm probably not going to find an edition that is exactly what im looking for, but i think i could get a lot of help here deciding for one that will give a good reading experience and that I'll really enjoy. I think my upper budget is about 100 Euro.
There is probably something I forgot but writing much more is going to make me dizzy. Sorry for the babbling, hope I'm not being a bother.
Thank you for any and all help! <3
Read the Hobbit as a kid, somehow never read the entire series.
I’d like to buy a nice hardcover collection of the Hobbit, LotR books, and Silmarillion to keep and pass down.
I saw the Easton Press version was not well-regarded for the price.
What’s your favorite hardcover collection you’d recommend?
(I’ll start off with an obligatory apology about owning a David Day book, as it was a birthday gift lol)
1st pic: April 2025
The rest of the pics: April 2026
My collection has grown a lot this past year, thanks to this subreddit. It’s been such a joy to dig deep into Tolkien’s life and writings.
I still have a bunch of books on my wishlist—namely, the few left that match the HoME set, some others to match existing sets, and a couple other biographies and scholarly works.
Super excited about the Myths & Legends 2 box set coming out in a couple months!
Like many of you, this is a work in progress, but I wanted to share my collection now that I’ve been at it for a year!
Major sale on this new edition on Amazon in the US! Got mine yesterday (with same day delivery!)
Had to put it on the staircase to get a good pick.
I’m missing off the top of my head
- Collected Poems (is Amazon WM/HC same size?)
- Letters of JRRT (same AMZ question)
- Tales from perilous realm (Amazon was not same size)
- Complete guide to ME (Amazon wrong version)
- Bilbos last song/Gray Havens (no info on this one)
- The non-ME Tolkien book series
What other recent releases that are WM/HC in this size do I need to order and where from?
I’m going to also order the Art/sketchbook/traveler tall skinny books
Any and all help to fill my shelf would be greatly appreciated. Been screenshotting everyone’s collections for some time. Saving separately for the older 4 book hobbit set from (I believe) 2006.
I wnated to collect some a format paperbacks and when i do my research, i fohnd these two. Now, i begun my collection with the ones on the first image and now im doubtfull so im asking for your opinions
It may not be rare or expensive, but it’s my little treasure, 1975 3rd Uk edition (10th impression) the favorite book of my collection.
Got those small Harper Collins nearly 20 years ago to start reading and learning English, and they served really well. Time has come to acquire nicer editions to join my very humble collection.
75th Anniversary Hobbit and 60th Anniversary LOTR box. My partners did so well on this gift! <3
I absolutely love the quality of this slipcase. It blows the other boxed sets out of the water.
