Thanks for all the help everyone!

I have another question actually: is the font on the WM 2024 Collector’s Edition a large enough size for comfortable reading? I just discovered an Alan Lee illustrated box set from 2020 that I can get for $40 dollars more, and if the Alan Lee box set has larger fonts I think I might decide to get his version instead.

I tried searching online but the latest video I’ve found are from 2023, and I think the earlier editions are slightly bigger than the WM 2024 edition so I have trouble gauging the font size…

This is going to be my first copy of LotR so I don’t really have anything references on hand. Would greatly appreciate it if anyone would be so kind to provide a comparison or let me know which boxed set is a better reading experience between the title edition and Alan Lee’s 2020 boxed set (pictures below).

Thanks!

As previously mentioned, I don’t have the US 2024 set you are looking at. But if it’s a choice between that and the 2020 set illustrated by Alan Lee, I’d go for that. It’s your preference between having artwork or not really.

Like others, I appreciate your photos! Great post Emilien

I'm a little confused by the dimensions on Amazon for these William Morrow editions. I might get them regardless, but the "boxed set" is listed as 8.75" height, whereas FOTR and ROTK are listed as 8.5" (height) x 5.7" (depth). (The Two Towers listing is likely wrong and says 7.87" for the single volume.) The editions of the Silmarillion and the Hobbit (listed individually of course, not as part of a set) are both listed as 8.25" (height) x 5.5" (depth).

In your pictures, it's hard to tell how nicely the five William Morrow books from 2024 would line up on a shelf. Is that 0.25" difference in height accurate? Is the 0.2" difference in depth accurate with your editions? Thank you!

One more line of questions for anyone who has spent time with these editions: My main objective is to have a simple, good quality edition that is nice on the shelf but also readable. Can you confirm that all these editions are good sewn bindings? Also, how are the books, bindings, and sprayed edges holding up with some use? Are these editions a good pickup for any Tolkien fan, or just one for collectors?

Worth saying that when something is billed as a ‘collectors edition’, this usually means it is a fairly inexpensive edition, paradoxically not especially interesting to collectors. Gift editions are often billed this way.

From what I have seen, this edition is OK. Nothing special. I have the Sil and Hobbit only. They are passable, but there are better editions out there.

They are sewn. Here's a few pictures of the The Hobbit. All five of the books are the same sewn binding.

The term ‘collector’s edition” is thrown around very loosely when it comes to books within the past 5 years.

A non-Tolkien example is to look at Onyx Storm. The “collector’s edition” of that is the exact same as the standard edition, except the dustjacket is slightly different, and it has sprayed/stained (same thing just different choice of words?) edges to the pages. Or, hop onto Waterstones or Barnes and Noble and just search ‘collector’s edition’ or ‘deluxe edition’ and see the various results to further see my point

So, going with some other fantasy and even YA books of recently, the William Morrow collector’s editions fit that definition.

Now, if some users here think they deserve the title of collector’s edition is something quite different….

Thanks. Yes, I realize that the title of "Collector's Edition" means nothing in terms of quality, collectability, or desirability. At least in this case, it makes it very easy to reference and to search for information on the set! There are a number of editions of the Hobbit and LOTR that I have more difficulty searching for simply because I don't know how other collectors refer to them! (E.g. how do people refer to this Hobbit? I was searching for it on TCG but can't seem to find it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0395177111/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1 )

One way to view this Collector's "set" is as a nicer paperback set. Seeing that they have sewn bindings at least puts them a level above those mass-market paperbacks, and for not much additional cost. Also, one thing that bugs me about my cheaper hardcover copies of the Hobbit (and even the facsimile edition) is that they have glued bindings by and large. Finding sewn bindings for LOTR sets seems much easier.

At the same time, the size difference between Hobbit/Silmarillion and LOTR still seems like it makes it very much a pseudo-set. calaei Thanks for the photos! Do the 5 books share similar height on the shelf when the LOTR books are not in their case?

Yes they are all the same height. Here's a photo of my Hobbit+LOTR. I've loaned out my Silmarillion at the moment but its the same height.