I'm sure someone somewhere out there collects (or studies) forgeries mind you. There was that pb Hobbit that came up a while back that the seller said had been signed by one of the Tolkiens. Someone on this forum (I think) suggested it might have been John Tolkien. But again, people bid on it; and nobody had a damn clue what it was.

BH

For a start its perfectly possible if there are two distinct Clowes jackets (for 1rst state, and for 2nd state [and 2nd imp.] books), that one or the other could end up on the incorrect corresponding book; as Clowes undoubtedly made them all at the same time. They may have run out of one when covering the 1st state book and used 2nd state jackets (i.e. blue-purple jacket on Clowes-cloth book; according to Hammond colours).

Trotter! You're scans are not helpful!

Rather than the Billing (and other later impressions) being 'Blue-purple', I think the Clowes-cloth 1st state jacket should have been described as destinctly 'Blue-black' (inky almost). Its destinctly darker than the other jackets; and lacks that warm blue/purple colour.

I think when you see a Billing copy (scan picture) on Ebay its quite destinct from the Clowes-cloth 1st state (it has this grainy texture to it); but some definitely look more purple than others.

I've got a range of 1st Edition jackets (and books) that should be representative of their repective impressions/states; but without consulting mutiple copies its impossible (I think) for any of us to say with conviction what the destinction is (if any) between them all.

Suffice to say Hammond certainly spotted a subtle difference in shade/colour between the Export and Domestic Editions which is noticeable; and stated that the Clowes 2nd state (although he does not prioritise it as such) was the same 'Blue-purple' as the Billing Domestic copy. I don't agree with the latter personally.

I think the Clowes-cloth 1st state is dark; the Billing copies do have a purple colour the Clowes-cloth lacks. But the Clowes-paper 2nd state is somewhere in between. After all, the two 'Blue-purple' jackets described by Hammond were both manufactured by two different printers; therefore a minor shade difference is not unlikely.

One other destinction I have always noticed (again it may be too subtle; and not consistent across all copies) is that the Clowes-cloth 1st state does not have the same shade of red lettering.

I know the lettering on the spine always fades; but the colour/shade of the lettering (if you ignore spines and examine front covers) is destinctly warmer I feel. Mabey my copy is faded slightly. Mabey the darker cover gives the illusion of a different shade of red. But looking at photos of copies (and scans) I can't help but think the Clowes-cloth jacket red is not so pillar box red as, say, the Billing copies (or even the Clowes 2nd impressions)...

Clear as mud!

BH

It's good to hear that Christopher still attends some public events. I would love to met the man myself, but travelling from Australia is a bit too far. Once in twelve months is my limit.

An eleven hour round trip sounds well worth the travelling to me. I'm very jealous of those in the UK to be able to attend these events.

Dior

I agree that sellers have a responsibilty to check their items before putting it up for sale......but it always amazes me that people are willing to part with their money without knowing about what they are bidding on

Each to their own I guess.

Dior

I believe he died last October. They still run the fruit farm that J R R Tolkien visited (to see Hilary). Chris(topher) Tolkien (Gabriel's son) is speaking at Andy Compton's Smile meeting this month. I assume he may be amongst 'the Tolkien family' 'passing by' the April ADCBooks event; as reported (update) by Andy on TolkienLibrary.com this week. His talk on Tolkien signatures may be of some interest.

Is anyone thinking of attending this event? Damn pity John Howe, Alan Lee (and even Roger Garland) may not be in attendance. The fact that Garland's art will all be there, some of the Tolkien family may attend, and that the event is bigger and will feature more book related displays/stands, is nearly convincing me to take the trip down; all 11hrs and 650 miles (round trip). Hmmm...

BH