One side note that I am still working on - can you guys with EP Hobbits help out?

Copies have been seen with the endpapers in silk (as mentioned in Hammond A3l, p. 48) and paper with "Pegasus design". Can we confirm copies with both states? I will try to find out which came first and when the change was made, but for stuff this old EP doesn't always have reliable records.

I am not doubting Wayne and Douglas, but the Easton Press Hobbit gets so little coverage in the Bibliography (seven lines of text, no full entry) that it seems possible that without being aware, they had a later state book.

Also, has anyone seen copies with additional printing information (date or otherwise) to mark a reprint? I never have, but I haven't handled all that many copies. According to EP they don't do this but I have an eBay seller saying they have seen it. Without a confirmed copy with additional info, obviously I will take EPs word...

Hi Stu,

Just noticed that you don't have the Easton Press Tales From the Perilous Realm in your list - did you miss this one when it came out in 2009?

I think the cover is very uninspired, frankly. Too plain for my taste, looks slapped together.

The Easton Silmarillion had the rune fixed on the cover in the Summer 2008 print run.

Copies have been seen with the endpapers in silk (as mentioned in Hammond A3l, p. 48) and paper with "Pegasus design". Can we confirm copies with both states? I will try to find out which came first and when the change was made, but for stuff this old EP doesn't always have reliable records.

Both of our copies (see below) have watered silk endsheets.

I am not doubting Wayne and Douglas, but the Easton Press Hobbit gets so little coverage in the Bibliography (seven lines of text, no full entry) that it seems possible that without being aware, they had a later state book.

My scheme in the Bibliography called for full descriptions of discrete British and American trade editions. "Most subsidiary and reprint editions in English are noted only, except reset book club and collector's editions, which are fully described in separate entries" (p. x). Since the Easton Press Hobbit was, in the first instance, a reprint of the Houghton Mifflin Collector's Edition, albeit with a special binding and added plate, it received only a paragraph in the appropriate place. (But clearly, I'm going to have to expand my descriptions in the second edition.)

In the meantime, I published the following addendum in Tolkien Collector 13 (May 1996, after Christina - more particularly, her books! - moved to America and I was able to put my Easton Press Hobbit next to hers):

"The copy of the Easton Press Hobbit I acquired in December 1984 measures (sheet size) 22.5 x 16.9 cm., and the central portion of the text on the copyright page (p. [iv]) reads 'REPRINTED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER | HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY.' The copy acquired by Christina a few years later measures only 21.5 x 13.7 cm., and the central portion of the text on p. [iv] reads 'PUBLISHED BY THE EASTON PRESS | WITH THE PERMISSION OF | HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY.' The sheets of the latter copy, a later impression, have been reduced in size at the expense of the margins and of the Hague frontispiece, all cropped. The cover stamping has been photographically reduced to fit the smaller format. The Hobbit probably was made smaller to make a uniform four-volume set with the Easton Press Lord of the Rings (see Bibliography, p. 141), which from the beginning was roughly the size of the standard Houghton Mifflin trade hardcover it reprints. The earlier Easton Press Hobbit matched in size the Houghton Mifflin 'Collector's edition', A3l."

Wayne

Hi Jeremy,
I don't have any of the recent EP editions (S&G, TftPR, CoH) because they weren't available outside of the US new. The only times I have seen them on eBay they have been expensive, and given they might reprint at any time, it makes no sense to spend a lot of money.

If they do reprint, I will definitely be taking you up on your kind offer to be an intermediary!

On the subject of the end papers, all my books definitely have the silk.

Stu

Thanks for the excellent information, Wayne. Thinking about it, I think I now remember seeing pictures on eBay where the Hobbit was a larger size. Of course, this probably means that I will need to buy one for completeness sake. Sigh.

Thanks Findegil! I should have known (a) your information is accurate and well sourced, and (b) to check The Tolkien Collector for updated information.

I am going to ask about the endpapers and see if EP has any information on when (or if) the "Pegasus" design was used.

Easton Press confirmed that The Hobbit was reduced in size when combined with The Lord of the Rings into a four volume set (before the Silmarillion). They were not sure of the date this happened, as the publishing archives are now offsite - a project for someone someday to go dig through if useful!

Also, the pegasus paper endsheets were used for the "Masterpieces of Fantasy" collection, which was discontinued in 2009. Again, not sure when that collection started, but the original (and subsequent) EP editions have the silk endpapers.

Urulókë wrote:
Hi Stu,

Just noticed that you don't have the Easton Press Tales From the Perilous Realm in your list - did you miss this one when it came out in 2009?

I think the cover is very uninspired, frankly. Too plain for my taste, looks slapped together.

Also, "Letters from Father Christmas." But don't worry, here's a cheap copy for sale:

This site uses affiliate links for which we may be compensated

Easton Press LETTERS FROM FATHER CHRISTMAS J R R Tolkien edited Baillie Tolkien

190580312629

Seller: finebooks100

(1426)

Ended Oct 23, 2011

This item ended more than 90 days ago

Believe it or not, the last copy of the Easton Press Letters from Father Christmas sold on Ebay for a BIN of STG£449 recently.