One element about Tolkien books I enjoy, is seeing all the various copies on the shelves at the bookstore. When the Lord of the Rings films were happening (2001-2003), I can remember seeing about 3 or 4 various editions of The Hobbit on the shelves, and about 5 or 6 of The Lord of the Rings. Usually, with most other non-Tolkien books, you have about 2-3 editions of the same title on the shelves.

After I became a Tolkien fan, I had noticed that many of the lesser known works have been published in various forms, and in various anthologies over the years, with different titles of the books that contained them.

As you can see from the subject of my post, I am referring to content that has appeared in Tree and Leaf, Poems and Stories and Tales From the Perilous Realm. The Tolkien Reader, as well, though I did not wish to make the title of this post overlong.

Now, I shall list the contents of the most recent editions of each book to serve as a refresher:

Tree and Leaf

Preface (by Christopher Tolkien)
On Fairy-Stories
Mythopoeia
Leaf by Niggle
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorthhelm's Son
Footnotes
Works by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Tolkien Reader

Publisher's Note
Tolkien's Magic Ring by Peter S. Beagle
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorthelm's Son
On Fairy-Stories
Leaf by Niggle
Farmer Giles of Ham
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

Poems and Stories

The Adventures of Tom Bomadil
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorthelm's Son
On Fairy-Stories
Leaf by Niggle
Farmer Giles of Ham
Smith of Wootton Major


Tales From the Perilous Realm

Introduction by Tom Shippey
Roverandom
Farmer Giles of Ham
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
Smith of Wootton Major
Leaf by Niggle
(Appendix) On Fairy-Stories
Afterword by Alan Lee

This next part is speculation.

Do you think, or would you like to see, a supreme or definitive edition that collects all these works together?? It doesn't need to be a deluxe edition.

Here is how I would like this speculative and comprehensive book to be laid out:

Title: Either Poems and Stories (a nod to the original release) or The Collected Short Fiction

It'll have Pauline Baynes' illustrations, where appropriate to the text. The image for the cover I have chosen is Tolkien's piece The Tree of Amalion. That would be used for any deluxe editions, as well, for the motif of the book and the slipcase.

Contents:

preface by Christopher Tolkien from Tree and Leaf
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorthelm's Son
Mythopoeia
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
Leaf by Niggle
Farmer Giles of Ham
Roverandom
Smith of Wootton Major
(Appendix) On Fairy-Stories

I look forward to reading your responses, and any resulting discussions. It is my hopes that you've enjoyed this post.