I have a 16th printing of the HC 50th Anniversary deluxe edition, ordered new last year (17th printing may be fairly new?), printer was China/RR Donnelley, and it's also pleasantly readable for such a large book. There's a bit of a bulge in the middle of the spine but otherwise it's a great book.

I've been on the lookout for an early printing of it with the 50th Anniversary designation on the spine for a while. They don't seem to pop up very often. There was one on eBay recently in great condition for a dirt-cheap Buy-It-Now but I of course missed it. The work continues!

With my other recent "Deluxe" LOTRs (the 70th Anniversary three-volume set, 1st printing, and the Tolkien Illustrated single-volume, 2nd printing), the spine is super-tight. I realize these books are primarily intended as "collector's editions" / bookshelf decorations, but I like to actually read my books and reading these particular ones is quite a chore.