Smith of Wootton Major, second state of the first impression
11 June
2025-6-11 11:57:25 AM UTC
2025-6-11 11:57:25 AM UTC
Here is a bit of a rare sight i dare say. Very happy to show this recent acquisition - a second state copy of the first impression of the first edition (UK) of Smith of Wootton Major from 1967.
When I returned to collecting Tolkien a decade ago I spent considerable time planning the scope of collecting and particularly I focused on the first editions. Deagols tolkienbooks.net was an invaluable resource. One of several entries there that caught particular attention was the mention of a second variant of the first edition of Smith of Wootton Major:
"The sheets of the First Impression appear to have been bound in at least two batches, using slightly different designs for the binding case.
The earlier first state has a solid black background, while the later second state has a white border on the top and bottom edges and on the spine.
The proportion of 1st to 2nd state copies is unknown, but observation of the copies offered for sale on the secondhand market suggests that the 1st state copies outnumber the 2nd state copies by more than 10:1."
The 2nd state design was re-used for the later impressions of the first edition to follow:
2nd Impression 1967
3rd Impression 1968
4th Impression 1971
5th Impression 1972
6th Impression 1973
7th Impression 1974
As getting first impressions of the first editions (and variants of these) of Tolkiens works was and is a main focus of my collecting endeavour I noted down the necessity of checking every 2nd state copy of the first edition I came over on ebay or abebooks until I found a first impression. In the beginning of course I did this with considerable optimism, but after a couple of years I realized this might be a bit of a hard find. In the end it would take me 10 years. I am not sure how many times i have checked copyright pages, have the heart skip a beat at seeing 1967, only to notice the dreaded words '2nd impression'. I am certain I have checked over 200 copies with the 2nd state design before finding this one, often this has required asking sellers for more photographs as many do not include a photo of the copyright page. The number of variant 1 first impression copies I have seen for sale during this timespan I quickly lost count of unfortunately, but you can find several for sale on abebooks at any time.
The last few years checking these listing became 'muscle memory' performed with as much enthusiasm as I muster when cleaning our washing-machine filter or being forced by my youngest daughter to re-watch Jacksons 'desolation of smaug'. A couple of weeks ago lightning struck on ebay however. I almost could not believe my eyes and even asked a friend to take a look at the listing to make sure I was not hallucinating.
Since then I have thought a bit on this impression and I have discussed it with Remy who confirmed he has been looking for copies of this longer than me without seeing one. I think that it's safe to say the ratio of first state copies to 2nd state copies of the first impression is considerably higher than 10:1 as speculated on by Deagol. In fact I was considering if the 2nd state copies of the first impressions might simply be 'proofs' or mock-ups made before the release of the 2nd impression with the new design. Remy argued that it's more probable that they had leftover copies of the first impression that they rebound with the new cover design - I think he is right about this, but its fun to speculate. At any rate I have come to think of this book as a sort of mythical creature akin to the fabled 1st (16th) Impression of the 1966 third edition hobbit paperback. Here are some pictures of the 2 variants and their respective copyright pages:
When I returned to collecting Tolkien a decade ago I spent considerable time planning the scope of collecting and particularly I focused on the first editions. Deagols tolkienbooks.net was an invaluable resource. One of several entries there that caught particular attention was the mention of a second variant of the first edition of Smith of Wootton Major:
"The sheets of the First Impression appear to have been bound in at least two batches, using slightly different designs for the binding case.
The earlier first state has a solid black background, while the later second state has a white border on the top and bottom edges and on the spine.
The proportion of 1st to 2nd state copies is unknown, but observation of the copies offered for sale on the secondhand market suggests that the 1st state copies outnumber the 2nd state copies by more than 10:1."
The 2nd state design was re-used for the later impressions of the first edition to follow:
2nd Impression 1967
3rd Impression 1968
4th Impression 1971
5th Impression 1972
6th Impression 1973
7th Impression 1974
As getting first impressions of the first editions (and variants of these) of Tolkiens works was and is a main focus of my collecting endeavour I noted down the necessity of checking every 2nd state copy of the first edition I came over on ebay or abebooks until I found a first impression. In the beginning of course I did this with considerable optimism, but after a couple of years I realized this might be a bit of a hard find. In the end it would take me 10 years. I am not sure how many times i have checked copyright pages, have the heart skip a beat at seeing 1967, only to notice the dreaded words '2nd impression'. I am certain I have checked over 200 copies with the 2nd state design before finding this one, often this has required asking sellers for more photographs as many do not include a photo of the copyright page. The number of variant 1 first impression copies I have seen for sale during this timespan I quickly lost count of unfortunately, but you can find several for sale on abebooks at any time.
The last few years checking these listing became 'muscle memory' performed with as much enthusiasm as I muster when cleaning our washing-machine filter or being forced by my youngest daughter to re-watch Jacksons 'desolation of smaug'. A couple of weeks ago lightning struck on ebay however. I almost could not believe my eyes and even asked a friend to take a look at the listing to make sure I was not hallucinating.
Since then I have thought a bit on this impression and I have discussed it with Remy who confirmed he has been looking for copies of this longer than me without seeing one. I think that it's safe to say the ratio of first state copies to 2nd state copies of the first impression is considerably higher than 10:1 as speculated on by Deagol. In fact I was considering if the 2nd state copies of the first impressions might simply be 'proofs' or mock-ups made before the release of the 2nd impression with the new design. Remy argued that it's more probable that they had leftover copies of the first impression that they rebound with the new cover design - I think he is right about this, but its fun to speculate. At any rate I have come to think of this book as a sort of mythical creature akin to the fabled 1st (16th) Impression of the 1966 third edition hobbit paperback. Here are some pictures of the 2 variants and their respective copyright pages:
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