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Re: 1st Issue of Unfinished Tales

Subject: Re: 1st Issue of Unfinished Tales
by Deagol on 2006/8/13 4:08:00

The ebay copy appears to have blue on the upper cover, so I'm inclined to think that the spine is just faded.

When I compiled the page at tolkienbooks.net I was careful to be uncommital about which variants would be the earliest. I think that the clipping of the text on page 234 may well be down to something becoming misaligned during the printing process then being corrected again - so it may not be as simple as 1st state/2nd state. You would need to find a proof or advance reading copy to be sure what the true first state is. Has anybody ever seen one for UT?

The jacket is even more contentious. I am not at all convinced that this is a real variant. I think that it is quite possible that it may be just a result of the fading of the blue ink - even on the front flap.