By AnariaLaurelin
Just popping in

Alan Lee Illustrated Hardcover Box Set (2020)

11 Sep, 2023
2023-9-11 7:34:31 PM UTC

I recently acquired this set, which I chose to purchase from eBay as I felt I would be able to determine a better printing by being able to see the item I would receive rather than a stock image, in addition to the much better prices compared to Blackwell's ~$250 for US purchase for this edition. However, though the set I received is largely in excellent condition and is a 6th printing from GPS (not the dreaded 5th), there is an egregious binding error of The Hobbit which was not apparent from the listing as well as the common block issue on page 98 of Fellowship of the Ring. My questions are twofold:
- Can the binding of The Hobbit be fixed, or else is the standalone edition (ISBN 9780008376116) identical to those in the set so that I may replace it with a better copy?
- Is the printing error in FotR ubiquitous to this edition or are there copies without this error? I know there are other minor print issues in the text but this is the one that bothers me the most. I would likely not seek a corrected edition for some time, but if it exists I would like to replace it eventually.

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Mr. Underhill
Shirrif (Moderator)

11 Sep, 2023
2023-9-11 10:48:27 PM UTC

Yes, it can be repaired…however I’m not sure the cost of the repair by the book binder would be worth it for this set. You’d probably be better off just replacing.

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Halbarad

12 Sep, 2023
2023-9-12 4:19:48 AM UTC

Yes, the error you see in chapter 5 of FoTR is in all of these editions. It's definitely one of the wilder ones, and it's a real head scratcher that they've chosen to fix other errors (much smaller and arguably more insignificant ones) in the 5 impressions they've run so far, but not that one. Here's to hoping they make a correction at a later date. It's a real eye sore.

That binding error is also pretty crazy. These books are sold individually though, so buying a replacement will only cost around 27 (USD), and then your boxed set will be good as new :) Thats what I would do, rather than packing everything back up and shipping it out.

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AnariaLaurelin
Just popping in

12 Sep, 2023
2023-9-12 4:01:39 PM UTC

Thank you, I will be picking up a replacement Hobbit via Blackwell's provided the last couple of books I got from them arrive in good enough condition. And indeed hopefully they will fix that typesetting error--I cannot imagine how it was missed in the first place.

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Halbarad

12 Sep, 2023
2023-9-12 7:52:22 PM UTC

AnariaLaurelin wrote:
Thank you, I will be picking up a replacement Hobbit via Blackwell's provided the last couple of books I got from them arrive in good enough condition. And indeed hopefully they will fix that typesetting error--I cannot imagine how it was missed in the first place.

Its especially puzzling when you realize that the error was somehow introduced to the text, and THEN overlooked. And the comma in the empty space is both upside down and backwards. Pretty sure the HC resident office cat was laying on the keyboard for this one.

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