H stands for Hobbit and the recent release of the pocket edition.

Yeh, sorry. Indeed, I meant the recent "pocket" Hobbit. The first impression (so marked; with "1" in number line) was not, apparently, made available in the UK; but could be had in Canada (& perhaps Australia --I can't remember.) Anyway, this is reasonably unusual.

It's a bit like the 1974 slipcased (double open ended) Pb LotRs:-

The Lord of the Rings. 1974 (Tolkienbooks.net)

I.e. first impression sets were not available in the UK.

BH

Ah, I knew I was having a brain block . So I'm curious, have you, Khamul or anyone else, bought a second or later impression of the pocket Hobbit? I recently bought a first impression deluxe Sigurd and Gudrun for $29, which might even be a little steep, but it makes me wonder if there is even a second impression of the title, deluxe or not. Point being, would it be a smart buy to pay $70 for Fall of Arthur straight from Amazon when it most likely will pop up on ebay for half that soon and might never even have a second impression (thereby negating the point of having a first impression).
Anyone know if these recent books have and/or will go into later impressions?
Thanks

You'd have to take this case by case.

Some books haven't been reprinted. Therefore regardless of where you're buying from (i.e. you could still be buying it "new" from a seller, or on the second-hand market) you'd be getting a first impression. Useful, as you don't need to ask sellers questions about what the copyright page says. But for other titles you would want to ask.

So with the 2007 Deluxe "30th Aniversary" Silmarillion you wouldn't need to bother asking about impression, as it hasn't, as far as I'm aware, been reprinted. Ditto, the 2002 Deluxe Silmarillion. The 2004 Deluxe (red incarnation) LotRs you would want to ask about impression, as it's been reprinted at least twice. I'm not sure about the HC Deluxe S&G; I'd imagine it's not been reprinted.

Either way, for a title with a reasonably large print run you'll always have the opportunity to pick up an essentially new copy (& first impression) at some later date. Cheaper? --depends on the title. Amazon also discount pretty effectively at publication time.

It really depends on how sellers deal with the title a few years down the road; & how many casual Tolkien fans bought the book too, & now want to sell. The 2007 Deluxe Silmarillion is a great example of a title that you would have been better just buying off Amazon at publication time, as prices (for a variety of reasons) & availability now make acquiring a copy, for a sensible price, very difficult.

BH

Sorry, in regard to the "pocket" H. No, I haven't bought a copy. But it was pretty obvious from the off that something was unusual, as bricks & mortar bookshops (i.e. Waterstones in the UK) had 2nd impressions on their shelves when the book had just been published. Amazon (UK) obviously don't bother mentioning this, but they'd have posted you a second impression too. Or so I gather.

To be honest, going back to an earlier point you made, I wouldn't trust Amazon to provide you with any accurate information. They are an appalling bookselling site. The way private sellers list etc is also a titanic mess. But this is where bargains are to be had; from confusion...

BH

this is where bargains are to be had; from confusion

Nicely put! There's something of a philosopher in you, Khamul!

"While the fantasy worlds in those works were drawn from Tolkien's knowledge of language and folklore, The Fall of Arthur used contemporary English, but was written in a style derived from 11th-century verse.

HarperCollins, which will publish the poem next May, was taken aback when Tolkien's son contacted the company about publishing the work.

Christopher Tolkien has devoted years of research to deciphering his father's manuscript fragments. The poem's existence was known only from the briefest of mentions in two letters and six lines that Tolkien's biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, was allowed to publish.

Chris Smith, editorial director at HarperCollins, said: “We'd never seen it until a manuscript was delivered to us. It's completely unpublished, apart from the handful of lines in the Carpenter biography. In the two letters, you have these scant but tantalising references to it. That's the reason it's known about, but no one has had access.”

Christopher Tolkien has been unable to establish exactly when the poem was written. The author made a single reference to it in a 1955 letter and kept a 1934 letter from his friend, RW Chambers, professor of English at University College London, who wrote: “It is very great indeed ... really heroic ... You really must finish it.”

There are no film rights available for The Fall of Arthur."

I don't see what relevance film rights has to this book, but looking forward to it.

You have to register to use the link below but if search Google for the article, then you can read it without registering.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/ ... ry-e6frg6so-1226490111696

It's now on amazon.co.uk -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Fall-Arth ... collsguid-21&linkCode=osi

- wellinghall

Just a plain standard hardback, I take it? (No deluxe?)
Ordered anyway --cheers wellinghall.

I see they're still peddling this rubbish about nobody knowing of its existence & only a handful of folk having seen it. What a pile of nonsense.

BH

Today's Sunday Times also has an article about this and prints the first thirty-eight lines of the poem as well.