Edited by AndyBirdUK on 2024-8-26 8:08:40 AM UTC Edited by AndyBirdUK on 2024-8-26 8:13:21 AM UTC Edited by AndyBirdUK on 2024-8-26 8:19:23 AM UTC Edited by AndyBirdUK on 2024-8-26 1:43:41 PM UTC
2024-4-25 6:32:48 PM UTC
These are the various modern UK Hobbit paperbacks I have with Black covers, all are published by Harper Collins.
I was wondering if anybody has or knows of any other cover/spine variations of these.
The first is a Fourth Edition (reset edition), 1999, 7th printing. The front cover has the Tolkien dragon in red along with silver dwarven runes within a very dark black circle. The spine has the same dragon and runes. All writing and logos are in silver. ISBN: 0261102214 (however the barcode is 9780261102217) [1]
The second is a Fourth Edition (reset), 1999 17th printing. It is the same as the first version, but with white dwarven runes, writing and logos (instead of silver). The ISBN is the same: 0261102214 [2]
The third is interesting, it is identical to the second with the same Edition, Date, Printing, Cover, Spine and ISBN, except that it has a white dragon on the spine. It looks fine, no additional colouring, fading or anything, i’m not sure if it is a proper version, sun faded or a printing error.
The fourth is a Fifth Edition, 2006, 134th printing. The front cover has a dark black mountain range with a red circle sun and a legend of “The Worldwide Bestseller” in red. The spine has a red circle sun and a red Harper Collins logo. ISBN: 9780261102217 [3]
The fifth is a Fifth Edition, 2011, 29th printing. The front cover has the same mountain range but with gold tops and also has some gold eagles, the background has some slight blue clouds, it still has the red circle sun, but has a legend of “75th Anniversary Edition”. The spine has a gold bottom part with a curved top (the American version has a straight top), it also has some mountains and the red sun. ISBN: 9870261103344 [4]
The sixth is interesting, it is identical to the fourth with the same Edition, Date, Printing, Cover, Spine and ISBN, except that it has a white sun on the spine. It looks fine, no additional colouring, fading or anything, i’m not sure if it is a proper version, sun faded or a printing error, but I have seen another one.
The seventh is again a Fifth Edition, 2011, but 66th printing. The cover is almost identical to the fourth but has dark black clouds and a legend of “The Worldwide Bestseller”. The spine is identical to the fourth with a red sun. ISBN: 9870261103344 [5]
The eighth is again a Fifth Edition, 2020, 70th printing. The cover has the same gold topped mountains and red sun with the slight blue clouds, however it has Tolkiens signature at the bottom, instead of the printed name and a legend. The spine is full black with the mountains and red sun in the middle. ISBN: 9870261103344
The ninth is again a Fifth Edition, 2020, 73rd printing. The cover is slightly lighter than the others, it has the same gold topped mountains and red sun with slight black clouds. The eagles are white (instead of gold) and the title is in gold (instead of white). Tolkiens signature is at the top, to match the other Tolkien ‘signature’ paperback books. The spine is again full black with mountains in the middle, however the sun is slightly smaller. ISBN: 9870261103344
The tenth is a Fifth Edition (reset), 2011, 77th printing. The cover is the same as the ninth version, however the spine just has the author as TOLKIEN without the JRR to match the newly release other Tolkien paperbacks. ISBN: 9870261103344
The eleventh is a Welsh language release, 2024. It is slightly taller and a bit thinner than the English versions. The cover is the same as the seventh English version, with the gold topped mountains and title/author in capitals, however the spine is the same as the eighth version, all black with central gold topped mountains. The publishers logo is Melin Bapur. ISBN: 9781917237154
The last is a Large Print Fifth Edition, 2003, 1st printing. The cover is the same as the first book, with red dragon and dwarven runes, but with a silver border and circle (instead of black) and a heading legend of “Large Print Edition” in red. The spine is the same. ISBN: 9780008108281
HarperCollins is currently in the process of switching most Tolkien paperbacks into a style that has a symbol on the cover (example: the new HoM-e covers)
I would be interested to know what people think books 2 and 5, with the white dragon and white sun on the spines. Do people think these are faded red versions or actual white printed? Both have very clean colours but red print does suffer from fading e.g. Baynes Lord of the Rings single volume paperback.
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