Identification Guide for Pauline Baynes Map of Middle-earth
11 Aug, 2025
(edited)
2025-8-11 12:05:23 PM UTC
2025-8-11 12:05:23 PM UTC
Credit: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Reproduced with kind permission for the Bodleian Libraries exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth.
In Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to Amy Ronald • 7 August 1970 (#2548), Tolkien sends a copy of the map and discusses its composition, so the map must have been first printed in the UK by the start of August 1970.
UK
The posters RRP in 1971 was £0.65 and 7,500 copies were produced on Cartridge.Eii4 J.R.R. Tolkien A Descriptive Bibliography by Wayne G. Hammond & Douglas A. Anderson p. 376[1]
Private Print (50 copies)
Drawn and embellished by Pauline Baynes. Based on the cartography of J. R. R. and C. J. R. Tolkien. First printing issued privately. © George Allen & Unwin Ltd.,1970. ISBN 0 04 912002 6 Printed in Great Britain by Jolly & Barber Ltd., Rugby.
First Trade Print
Drawn and embellished by Pauline Baynes. Based on the cartography of J. R. R. and C. J. R. Tolkien. First Trade Printing 1970. © George Allen & Unwin Ltd.,1970. ISBN 0 04 912002 6 Printed in Great Britain by Jolly & Barber Ltd., Rugby.
Later Prints
US
The first printings of the map for the US were printed in the UK, but they can be identified by either having a $ price ($2.50) or having a number ending in the price, such as 02020-250, where -250 stands for $2.50.
First Trade Print
New map of Middle-Earth $2.50
Drawn and embellished by Pauline Baynes. Based on the cartography of J. R. R. and C. J. R. Tolkien © George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 1970. Ballantine Books 02020-250, Printed in Great Britain by Jolly & Barber Ltd., Rugby
Later Prints
Other uses of the picture
- Used as the cover for the 1971 The World of Tolkien cataloguehttps://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/n ... t_id=58866#forumpost58866[2]
- GA&U Tolkien Cards The Lord of the Rings 6. Map of Middle-earth
- Poster Collection
- The J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar 1973 Ballantine
- The J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar 1974 GA&U
- Maker of Middle-earth p. 384-5
Acknowledgements
Thank you to anyone who contributed to this thread on the TolkienGuide, with images and information on these posters.
Finally, if you would like one of these posters, you can get an excellent reproduction, the Map of Middle-earth Bodleian Library Print
1 Eii4 J.R.R. Tolkien A Descriptive Bibliography by Wayne G. Hammond & Douglas A. Anderson p. 376 ↩
Emilien wrote:
Thank you Urulókë!
I have a question regarding the first american printings. Just acquired a copy which is identical to the first picture listed in the 'later prints' section of the US map.
I would like tobe sure to understand correctly : are the two examples listed in the 'later prints' for the US are actual reprints or different states of the first american printing? (since they still mention 'First trade printing 1970' on one hand, and the first 'reprint' (my copy for instance) bears the same price tag that the 'First trade print' (ie $2,50 or '250') in the other hand.
From the information I have been able to gather: the true first printing of the US edition has the sentence "New map of Middle-Earth $2.50" above the rest of the textual information, at the bottom of the map. Later printings dropped that sentence. I suppose this could be considered a "state" of the first impression, but without detailed information from the printer as to when the change was made and why, it is impossible to know definitively. I think priority is clear, though, with the presence of that sentence being "first".
I've seen much later prices (higher than $3.00) that still say "First Trade Printing 1970" on them, so I don't think that is a good indicator of a first printing. I think they forgot to change it (or didn't care), or else left it there to mean "this is when the poster was first printed" rather than "this is the first printing".
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