Hello together,
As a ‚silent‘ reader of this forum I was persuaded to sign in by Berelach ( Thanks for your assistance at this birth, Berelach ;)) )
So let me introduce myself at first. I’m a Tolkien fellow from Germany since I was 13 (that was 1978...) There I saw LotR at the bookshelf of a school friend. He talked so enthusiastic about it that I decided to buy it the same day. And from that moment on I was infected by the Tolkien virus.
Over the years I tried to get all German translated stuff. When growing older I also looked for the english originals. At first I wasn’t interested in print runs or special editions, I only wanted to own his well-known stories to read them in the original. But in the course of the next years I catched myself beginning to collect some special and deluxe editions and later I expanded my collection to all boxed/slipcased books and sets. This collection is pretty well complete, missing only a few (and expensive) issues, like the super deluxe Sil. So I decided to make a further expansion, now looking for 1st printings and also the scholarly works. This is a wide field and great challenge but once more very exciting. This forum is really a great help and always a pleasure to read in.
So I hope to be welcome in your exclusive community and to learn more about collecting these fantastic preciouss...

NB As I’m not a native speaker, I just have to apologize for mistakes in grammar and choice of words - time passed since I finished school. ;))