Books and other printed materials >> The Lord of the Rings: 70th Anniversary Deluxe (signed limited edition)
S&G was sold with an initial price (£250), which then changed to £350 after a month, so they have form for adjusting prices.
I think the price for this is absurd for what is on offer, but I have no doubt it will sell out.
I think the price for this is absurd for what is on offer, but I have no doubt it will sell out.
As a US resident,
I’m not going to jump through the hoops requisite for this edition. I dare say the price, which roughly equates to $1000 USD, makes the nicer Folio Society version (which I gulped at the price for but paid) seem like a comparative bargain at $1500 USD.
I’m not going to jump through the hoops requisite for this edition. I dare say the price, which roughly equates to $1000 USD, makes the nicer Folio Society version (which I gulped at the price for but paid) seem like a comparative bargain at $1500 USD.
Gloinson wrote:
As a US resident,
I’m not going to jump through the hoops requisite for this edition. I dare say the price, which roughly equates to $1000 USD, makes the nicer Folio Society version (which I gulped at the price for but paid) seem like a comparative bargain at $1500 USD.
I was thinking similarly. I like the look of these books, the HC "Deluxe 2nd Series" is my favorite deluxe series and these resemble that, but if I'm going to pay $1000 plus whatever it would cost to actually get it here, then I feel a little silly having not just gotten the Folio release.
I'm hoping (without any evidence to support said hope) that HC will publish the same thing without signatures in a less limited edition.
In other words, the quality of the books, from spine design to cloth binding to paper quality to silver edges, looks very attractive.
In other words, the quality of the books, from spine design to cloth binding to paper quality to silver edges, looks very attractive.
11 Oct, 2025
(edited)
2025-10-11 12:26:56 AM UTC
Edited by Trotter on 2025-10-11 6:47:01 AM UTC
2025-10-11 12:26:56 AM UTC
wiseSam wrote:
I'm hoping (without any evidence to support said hope) that HC will publish the same thing without signatures in a less limited edition.
In other words, the quality of the books, from spine design to cloth binding to paper quality to silver edges, looks very attractive.
They already essentially have. This is just the existing deluxe with some (fairly minor) tweaks and repackaging ... and a real-world price 6 x that edition. This edition makes the Folio seem like a masterpiece and good value, tbh.
The late Stu wrote:
wiseSam wrote:
I'm hoping (without any evidence to support said hope) that HC will publish the same thing without signatures in a less limited edition.
In other words, the quality of the books, from spine design to cloth binding to paper quality to silver edges, looks very attractive.
They already essentially have. This is just the existing deluxe with some (fairly minor) tweaks and repackaging ... and a real-world price 6 x that edition. This edition makes the Folio seem like a masterpiece and good value, tbh.
I have a 2nd copy of the WM 70th "Deluxe" LOTR arriving today. For $103 from Amazon, I couldn't resist. Out of curiosity, does anyone know what kind of paper was used in that edition?
But the full cloth cover and spine of this one seem far superior. Even the silver page edges seem attractive, and certainly more classy than the "ring on the river floor" motif on the edition you mentioned. I'm not crazy about the clamshell. With the much higher price, the USA limitation, and with a race to order a limited number of copies, I'll sit this one out.
Still, I can't help but wonder if they will release the exact same product in an unsigned and not-limited edition.
11 Oct, 2025
(edited)
2025-10-11 10:17:03 PM UTC
Edited by The late Stu on 2025-10-11 10:29:15 PM UTC
2025-10-11 10:17:03 PM UTC
They have prior form for releasing limited editions and then releasing exactly the same thing without a limitation (1997 deluxe LotR, 1999 Hobbit). I can’t think of a case where they did a signed limited and then reprinted, but HarperCollins has zero problem releasing limited editions and then just ignoring the fact they said it was limited.
But, like I say, they already have this product essentially available, so it would be competing with something they already have. If it was the identical clamshell product, just without a limitation, then you end up with a pricing problem. Unless it is a lot cheaper, no one will buy it. If it is a lot cheaper, you are putting a price on that signature page, which might not make people terribly happy when they do the maths.
At the end of the day, the only people that know are HarperCollins. Anyone else is guessing. What we can say is that they will do whatever makes them the most money!
I think the market is sounding a bit fatigued with this new edition before it has even released (almost all comments online have been ‘same thing, silly price’), so curious how it performs. Most people know Alan Lee’s signature is worthless at this point, just because it is so widely available.
At three quarters of the price of the (admittedly flawed) Folio, this is an absurdity, IMHO. For all its marmitiness, the Folio has great tipped-in images. By necessity, this HC edition will have smaller images so the borders fit (per the current deluxe) and they will be printed on the same sheets as the text, with the same printers.
One day we might get a great deluxe edition where the actual books take centre stage, but this isn’t it. I say this as someone who loves a good clamshell…
But, like I say, they already have this product essentially available, so it would be competing with something they already have. If it was the identical clamshell product, just without a limitation, then you end up with a pricing problem. Unless it is a lot cheaper, no one will buy it. If it is a lot cheaper, you are putting a price on that signature page, which might not make people terribly happy when they do the maths.
At the end of the day, the only people that know are HarperCollins. Anyone else is guessing. What we can say is that they will do whatever makes them the most money!
I think the market is sounding a bit fatigued with this new edition before it has even released (almost all comments online have been ‘same thing, silly price’), so curious how it performs. Most people know Alan Lee’s signature is worthless at this point, just because it is so widely available.
At three quarters of the price of the (admittedly flawed) Folio, this is an absurdity, IMHO. For all its marmitiness, the Folio has great tipped-in images. By necessity, this HC edition will have smaller images so the borders fit (per the current deluxe) and they will be printed on the same sheets as the text, with the same printers.
One day we might get a great deluxe edition where the actual books take centre stage, but this isn’t it. I say this as someone who loves a good clamshell…
The late Stu wrote:
I think the market is sounding a bit fatigued with this new edition before it has even released (almost all comments online have been ‘same thing, silly price’), so curious how it performs. Most people know Alan Lee’s signature is worthless at this point, just because it is so widely available.
I have stayed away from the Folio editions and the 70th Anniversary Deluxe, and I'm not planning on buying the clamshell set either, but I don't think it's true that "Most people know Alan Lee's signature is worthless at this point." Everyone on this site certainly does. But if you spend time on the Tolkien collecting Facebook page or the tolkienbooks subreddit, both of which I would classify as places where the members have a somewhat higher knowledge/experience level than the general public at large, there are still plenty of folks in those places who pop up saying things like "how much is an Alan Lee signature worth?" or thinking that by having found something with his signature the book is worth much more. I'd say there are plenty of Tolkien fans and book collectors who are willing to believe any "signed" edition of a book is worth a substantial amount. And by plenty, I'd guess that number is in the tens of thousands if not higher. That said, I agree it seems there is more fatigue with this edition, given how similar in appearance and content it is to both the recent 70th Deluxe and the Folio editions. And yet will still probably sell out in less than a day.
12 Oct, 2025
(edited)
2025-10-12 12:03:46 AM UTC
Edited by Eye_of_the_Black_Tower on 2025-10-12 12:09:41 AM UTC
Edited by Eye_of_the_Black_Tower on 2025-10-12 12:34:04 AM UTC
Edited by Eye_of_the_Black_Tower on 2025-10-12 12:34:04 AM UTC
2025-10-12 12:03:46 AM UTC
My personal opinion is that the limited-edition of the 70th Anniversary Edition AND last year’s ‘regular’ deluxe version of it should have been available at pretty much the same time: they’re BOTH the “70th Anniversary Edition” but different tiers…..which is why they’re so similar in appearance. In that sense, it reminds me (this is my own personal thinking) of the limited-editions of Children of Hurin and Sigurd & Gudrun being compared to their ‘regular’ deluxe edition counterparts: it’s a ‘more’ prestigious edition OF a deluxe, in a sense.
But, by releasing the limited-edition of the 70th Anniversary Edition a year later reminds me of a very similar scenario: when The Hobbit Facsimile Gift Set came out a year after the regular version did…which did NOT sit right with me, as a consumer. Offer both at once (like how ‘back when’ the standard hardcover of a Tolkien book and its deluxe version essentially published together) and just let people choose.
But, by releasing the limited-edition of the 70th Anniversary Edition a year later reminds me of a very similar scenario: when The Hobbit Facsimile Gift Set came out a year after the regular version did…which did NOT sit right with me, as a consumer. Offer both at once (like how ‘back when’ the standard hardcover of a Tolkien book and its deluxe version essentially published together) and just let people choose.
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