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Modern Black Cover UK Hobbit Paperbacks

25 April
2024-4-25 6:32:48 PM UTC

These are the various modern UK Hobbit paperbacks I have with Black covers, all are published by Harper Collins.

I was wondering if anybody has or knows of any other cover/spine variations of these.

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The first is a Fourth Edition (reset edition), 1999, 7th printing. The front cover has the Tolkien dragon in red along with silver dwarven runes within a very dark black circle. The spine has the same dragon and runes. All writing and logos are in silver. ISBN: 0261102214 (however the barcode is 9780261102217) [1]

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The second is a Fourth Edition (reset edition), 1999 74th printing. It is the same as the first version, but with white dwarven runes, writing and logos (instead of silver) and the dragon on the spine is white (instead of red). ISBN: 0261102214 (however the barcode is 9780261102217) [2]

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The third is a Fifth Edition, 2006, 134th printing. The front cover has a dark black mountain range with a red circle sun and a legend of “The Worldwide Bestseller” in red. The spine has a red circle sun and a red Harper Collins logo. ISBN: 9780261102217 [3]

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The fourth is a Fifth Edition, 2011, 29th printing. The front cover has the same mountain range but with gold tops and also has some gold eagles, the background has some slight blue clouds, it still has the red circle sun, but has a legend of “75th Anniversary Edition”. The spine has a gold bottom part with a curved top (the American version has a straight top), it also has some mountains and the red sun. ISBN: 9870261103344 [4]

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The fifth is interesting, it is identical to the third with the same Edition, Date, Printing, Cover, Spine and ISBN, except that it has a white sun on the spine. It looks fine, no additional colouring, fading or anything, i’m not sure if it is a proper version or a printing error, but I have seen another one.

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The sixth is again a Fifth Edition, 2011, but 66th printing. The cover is almost identical to the third but has dark black clouds and a legend of “The Worldwide Bestseller”. The spine is identical to the third with a red sun. ISBN: 9870261103344 [5]

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The seventh is again a Fifth Edition, 2020, 70th printing. The cover has the same gold topped mountains and red sun with the slight blue clouds, however it has Tolkiens signature at the bottom, instead of the printed name and a legend. The spine is full black with the mountains and red sun in the middle. ISBN: 9870261103344

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The eighth is again a Fifth Edition, 2020, 73rd printing. The cover is slightly lighter than the others, it has the same gold topped mountains and red sun with slight black clouds. The eagles are white (instead of gold) and the title is in gold (instead of white). Tolkiens signature is at the top, to match the other Tolkien ‘signature’ paperback books. The spine is again full black with mountains in the middle, however the tips of the mountains are black and the sun is slightly smaller. ISBN: 9870261103344

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The last is a Large Print Fifth Edition, 2003, 1st printing. The cover is the same as the first book, with red dragon and dwarven runes, but with a silver border and circle (instead of black) and a heading legend of “Large Print Edition” in red. The spine is the same. ISBN: 9780008108281

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TolkienBooks References:
[1] https://tolkienbooks.net/php/details2.php?id=205
[2] https://tolkienbooks.net/php/details2.php?id=206
[3] https://tolkienbooks.net/php/details2.php?id=221
[4] https://tolkienbooks.net/php/details2.php?id=226
[5] https://tolkienbooks.net/php/details2.php?id=227
25 April
2024-4-25 7:55:14 PM UTC
HarperCollins is currently in the process of switching most Tolkien paperbacks into a style that has a symbol on the cover (example: the new HoM-e covers)
25 April
2024-4-25 9:02:16 PM UTC
Excellent Andy. That's seems pretty comprehensive. Thank you for this information.

The only thing I can add (and I have no idea the beginning and end printings of the variation).

But 2006 118th Printing has Colour Illustration of Hobbiton on Front Pastedown. 2006 140th Printing does not.

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25 April
2024-4-25 9:07:46 PM UTC
That’s very interesting, another variation to look out for.
27 April
2024-4-27 5:06:19 PM UTC
I would be interested to know what people think books 2 and 5, with the white dragon and white sun on the spines. Do people think these are faded red versions or actual white printed? Both have very clean colours but red print does suffer from fading e.g. Baynes Lord of the Rings single volume paperback.
28 April
2024-4-28 2:18:53 AM UTC
Adding to the red dragon spine editions:

I have two printing variants both ISBN 026110221-4

The shorter, 17.0cm: 1999 3rd impression
'Printed and bound in USA by OPM"

The taller, 17.8cm: 1999 9th impression
"Printed in Australia by Griffin press"


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28 April
2024-4-28 6:32:26 AM UTC
Can you confirm if these are UK editions?
28 April
2024-4-28 7:39:01 AM UTC
I've attached the copyright pages. Appears so.

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28 April
2024-4-28 8:34:48 AM UTC
That’s great, thanks for the details
28 April
2024-4-28 9:17:24 AM UTC

AndyBirdUK wrote:

Can you confirm if these are UK editions?

The one printed in the USA was for the Canadian market and only sold in Canada to the best of my knowledge.

And similarly the one printed at the Griffen press was only sold in Australia (and maybe New Zealand?)

So although the publisher is HarperCollins - whether they should be considered UK editions is another question.....
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