As many of you will know, we're preparing a new edition of our J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide for publication in September. One of the articles in the Reader's Guide component is "Collecting and sales", about the collecting of Tolkien's works and "Tolkieniana", with general comments about sales and prices. We want to bring this up to date for 2016/17 - ten years or so after our first edition - and wonder if anyone here would care to suggest current trends in collecting, notable events or sales, etc., indeed any thoughts at all.

Examples of aspects and questions, by no means exhaustive:

The continuing (comparatively) high prices for Tolkien books that are very common in the market, even for later printings, copies with damage, etc.

The increase in special "collector's editions", e.g. by HarperCollins, and the fact that these aren't necessarily limited editions.

The increase in variant trade editions, as when HarperCollins publishes a paperback in both mass market and trade paperback size.

The muddying of the Tolkien autograph market by forgeries.

Has the number of Tolkien collectors grown worldwide?

Did the films encourage more people to collect, and have they stayed with it once the publicity faded?

Are collectors specializing more, rather than being "completists"?

How has the proliferation of booksellers (amateur as well as professional) online, largely taking over from physical shops and printed catalogues, changed the face of Tolkien collecting?

Thanks,

Wayne & Christina