(Altho' I don't actually have a copy...) I suspect Jewels might be suseptible to light damage as well. I always ask about sun fading to any jacketed book with red on the spine.
Trotter, I would keep any red (or redish) spines out of direct light. I personally don't have any of the HoME on display at present. They're in a glass doored bookcase behind numerous other (less important) books (all doubled up -running out of room!). I think they are also turned spine inwards!
I tend to use a lot of 'buffer' books on my shelfs: Unimportant books sitting (cover facing outwards) in front of the collection proper. That way very little light gets at spines. I could have the curtains drawn, but its my front room (lounge/main room) and not always possible/desirable. It seems the easiest solution until such times as I get a house, with a seperate room that can be used exclusively for all the precious collection...
BH
Trotter, I would keep any red (or redish) spines out of direct light. I personally don't have any of the HoME on display at present. They're in a glass doored bookcase behind numerous other (less important) books (all doubled up -running out of room!). I think they are also turned spine inwards!
I tend to use a lot of 'buffer' books on my shelfs: Unimportant books sitting (cover facing outwards) in front of the collection proper. That way very little light gets at spines. I could have the curtains drawn, but its my front room (lounge/main room) and not always possible/desirable. It seems the easiest solution until such times as I get a house, with a seperate room that can be used exclusively for all the precious collection...
BH
What about Children of Hurin, the Silmarrillion, and Unfinished tales. Should they match?
Thanks,
Eric
Thanks,
Eric
A couple of great topics mixed around here, I'll try to touch on all of them:
Trotter/Khamul - I don't know how many copies of BoLT 1/Return of the Shadow I have seen with a faded spine - the "black" dustjacket fades to a very unlovely shade of purple if exposed to sun too long, so it's probably using some similar red dyes. I do agree that red dustjackets are very susceptible to sunlight fading, but keep them all out of direct sunlight! Even the white dustjackets of the first edition LoTRs get all brown and crackly from sunlight over time.
Stu - I wish I had had relatives that "together" when I was growing up, getting me books like that! One cautionary note, your Grandmother's birthday card is probably not acid-free, so you might want to wrap it in archival tissue paper at the very least, or you may end up with a slightly brown ghost-image of the card on the touching pages of the book over time. On your other topic, my best find was a couple of UK Peoples I found in a US specialty bookstore at list price (converted to US$, at that time they were about $50 each), and this was in 2002 or so - they had been sitting on the shelves like that for years.
Eric the Red - I am not sitting near my copies of UT and Silmarillion right now, but in general those three books don't match in size, binding materials, etc. Not even the various deluxe/super deluxe editions that HarperCollins has put out over the years match in size or quality, and that's a shame.
Trotter/Khamul - I don't know how many copies of BoLT 1/Return of the Shadow I have seen with a faded spine - the "black" dustjacket fades to a very unlovely shade of purple if exposed to sun too long, so it's probably using some similar red dyes. I do agree that red dustjackets are very susceptible to sunlight fading, but keep them all out of direct sunlight! Even the white dustjackets of the first edition LoTRs get all brown and crackly from sunlight over time.
Stu - I wish I had had relatives that "together" when I was growing up, getting me books like that! One cautionary note, your Grandmother's birthday card is probably not acid-free, so you might want to wrap it in archival tissue paper at the very least, or you may end up with a slightly brown ghost-image of the card on the touching pages of the book over time. On your other topic, my best find was a couple of UK Peoples I found in a US specialty bookstore at list price (converted to US$, at that time they were about $50 each), and this was in 2002 or so - they had been sitting on the shelves like that for years.
Eric the Red - I am not sitting near my copies of UT and Silmarillion right now, but in general those three books don't match in size, binding materials, etc. Not even the various deluxe/super deluxe editions that HarperCollins has put out over the years match in size or quality, and that's a shame.
Eric the Red The British George Allen & Unwin first hardback editions The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and The Children of Húrin match the UK History of Middle-Earth Hardbacks in that they are the same height, but no other similarity, which is not surprising given that The Silmarillion was published in 1977 and The Children of Húrin in 2007 (30 years later).
The US editions do not match even in size as far as I am aware.
The US editions do not match even in size as far as I am aware.
I don't know, The Silmarillion & UT are pretty uniform; dyed top page edges and all. And they don't differ markedly from the early GA&U HoME titles either; especially (again) vol. 1 - IV with their dyed top edges. CoH is, as you state, a book that is seperated from these titles by a few decades (& companies!). Of course you could buy uniform copies of all in their new format: the Hx Hobbit format for want of a better description.
BH
BH
It is also possible to get the hard-to-find 1992 HC Unfinished Tales that matches UK HoME rather well (apart from the JRRT on the spine)...
Stu
Stu
Stu, you appear to have the greatest collection of all time. Those volumes are gleaming with brilliance. I can almost hear thier Holy aura. What a treasure!... I am truly envious.
Is there a mylar coating on them or something?
I have to admit that I am blown away by the vastness of the collective knowledge of those on this site. Wow!
The Rookie is floored.
Eric
Is there a mylar coating on them or something?
I have to admit that I am blown away by the vastness of the collective knowledge of those on this site. Wow!
The Rookie is floored.
Eric
Eric, I wish I did have the greatest collection, but I suspect mine is actually one of the smallest of those who frequent this site (just a couple of hundred books and a couple of dozen calendars). It has still taken me a good while to acquire, mind, and I have no real desire to (greatly) increase the size of it, especially in the current economic climate.
The books pictured are indeed in Mylar DJ protectors which make them look a bit more shiny (but provide good protection from fingers and UV). UK HoME are quite prone to getting a scuffed matte finish, but I am quite lucky that most of my copies were ordered in from the same bookshop and therefore didn't get any shelf-wear pre-purchase, so they are actually relatively glossy even without the protectors. They do look nice on the shelf, and I can often be found looking at them lovingly (to my fiancee's great amusement).
On the subject of DJ fading, one of my copies of SD has very mild fading, but the other copy has always been behind glass and never in direct sunlight and is still completely uniform. None of the other books (including WOJ) have any fading. The only real aging I have noticed is toning to the page edges on WOJ and Peoples. These seem to have been printed on much poorer quality paper than the other books.
Stu
The books pictured are indeed in Mylar DJ protectors which make them look a bit more shiny (but provide good protection from fingers and UV). UK HoME are quite prone to getting a scuffed matte finish, but I am quite lucky that most of my copies were ordered in from the same bookshop and therefore didn't get any shelf-wear pre-purchase, so they are actually relatively glossy even without the protectors. They do look nice on the shelf, and I can often be found looking at them lovingly (to my fiancee's great amusement).
On the subject of DJ fading, one of my copies of SD has very mild fading, but the other copy has always been behind glass and never in direct sunlight and is still completely uniform. None of the other books (including WOJ) have any fading. The only real aging I have noticed is toning to the page edges on WOJ and Peoples. These seem to have been printed on much poorer quality paper than the other books.
Stu
It is also possible to get the hard-to-find 1992 HC Unfinished Tales that matches UK HoME rather well (apart from the JRRT on the spine)...
Stu
I find this book impossible to get hold of. In fact I think they only printed 5 copies to tease collectors like me
I also can't lovingly look at my HOME's any more as I took Khamul's advice and turned them round so the spines are inwards. but it is a good idea, I have a 1st/4th BOLT1 and the spine has gone a horrible purple shade because of sun-damage, I really do not want this to happen to my main set.
Stu
I find this book impossible to get hold of. In fact I think they only printed 5 copies to tease collectors like me
I also can't lovingly look at my HOME's any more as I took Khamul's advice and turned them round so the spines are inwards. but it is a good idea, I have a 1st/4th BOLT1 and the spine has gone a horrible purple shade because of sun-damage, I really do not want this to happen to my main set.
>I find this book impossible to get hold of. In fact I think they only printed 5 copies to tease collectors like me
It's was the hardest book to find in my collection. It becamse a kind of holy grail, as it took me several years to find a copy. If I hadn't seen a picture of it, I wouldn't have believed it existed! When I did find it, I was lucky enough to get an unread copy in near perfect condition. It cost 40 pounds, which was seemed fair given its rarity. I would love to know how many copies were printed.
I have only seen spine fading on later printings of the 1st of BoLT 1, never on the 1st/1st. Certainlty the 3rd printing(s) start off as a much more blue colour than the fairly black 1st printing, and I suspect these later ones use a less stable dye. I would just go with a good quality jacket protector that protects against UV and keep them out of direct sunlight (behind glass if possible). Mine have been on show for the last 5 years in this manner with no noticeable fading. Not much point in having them just to look at the page edges! :)
Stu
It's was the hardest book to find in my collection. It becamse a kind of holy grail, as it took me several years to find a copy. If I hadn't seen a picture of it, I wouldn't have believed it existed! When I did find it, I was lucky enough to get an unread copy in near perfect condition. It cost 40 pounds, which was seemed fair given its rarity. I would love to know how many copies were printed.
I have a 1st/4th BOLT1 and the spine has gone a horrible purple shade because of sun-damage, I really do not want this to happen to my main set.
I have only seen spine fading on later printings of the 1st of BoLT 1, never on the 1st/1st. Certainlty the 3rd printing(s) start off as a much more blue colour than the fairly black 1st printing, and I suspect these later ones use a less stable dye. I would just go with a good quality jacket protector that protects against UV and keep them out of direct sunlight (behind glass if possible). Mine have been on show for the last 5 years in this manner with no noticeable fading. Not much point in having them just to look at the page edges! :)
Stu