TOLKIEN, J. R. R.. THE LORD OF THE RINGS. (The The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, & The Return of the King). (ALL FIRST EDITIONS FIRST ISSUES - 3 VOLUMES)

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AUTHOR: TOLKIEN, J. R. R.

TITLE: THE LORD OF THE RINGS. (The The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, & The Return of the King).

PUBLISHER: London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954, 54, & 55.

DESCRIPTION: ALL FIRST EDITIONS FIRST ISSUES. 3 vols., 8-3/4" x 5-3/4", each volume with their fold-out map, "Return of The King" first issue without signature mark (4) on page 49. Bound in fine full red morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spines, covers ruled in gilt, front covers blocked and one spine panel with the "all seeing eye", gilt dentelles, all edges gilt, by the Chelsea Bindery.

CONDITION: IN LIKE NEW CONDITION.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most influential literary works of the century. Its first reception was mixed: favorable and perceptive reviews from C. S. Lewis and from W. H. Auden, who had attended Tolkien's Oxford lectures, were countered by others who were hostile, sometimes bitterly so. But the trilogy went on to astonishing sales and forged a major change in public literary taste. "Heroic fantasy" has since become one of the most commercially successful literary genres, having a transforming impact upon the entertainment industry, from electronic games to movies.