Books

3 Volume Set of Lord OF The Rings, all impressions of the first edition - The Fellowship Of The Ring 7th Impression 1957 (dustwrapper stating Eighth Impression), The Two Towers 5th Impression 1957, and The Return Of The King 4th Impression May 1958, all in original dustwrappers and with colour folding maps bound in to rear endpapers; red cloth boards with gilt titling to spines, red topstains; all volumes with small bookshop stamps, former owner's name to front pastedows, and toning and foxing to endpapers and text blocks, milder foxing to prelims, very occasional foxed spots in text, o.w. Very Good throughout; boards lightly rubbed, and with one or two minor worn spots; dustwrapper Vol I edgeworn and rubbed, minor loss to head and tail of spine, spine tanned, price clipped, small stains and with some traces of insect damage; Vol II edgeworn and rubbed, tanned to spine, mild insect damage, price clipped, Vol III edgeworn and rubbed, tanned to spine, loss to head and tail, price clipped; all dustwrappers in clear removable acid-free covers. Dustwrapper. 1193pp. 3 volumes 8vo. all volumes Very Good in chipped & rubbed dustwrappers all volumes Very Good in chipped & rubbed dustwrappers.

The second volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's high fantasy adventure The Lord of the Rings, 'The Two Towers', continues the story of the quest to destroy the One Ring. The fellowship is scattered, and its members take different paths in order to combat the spread of darkness by the evil Sauron and his allies. New alliances are formed and epic battles are fought, setting the stage for the story's climax in the final volume.

The primary method to authenticate first editions of The Lord of the Rings involves inspecting the publication details within each volume. Look for the publisher's name, typically stated as "George Allen & Unwin Ltd," on the title page. Verify the dates on the back of the title page: the initial two books should bear the 1954 date, while the third should display 1955, without any subsequent dates. A common query we encounter concerns editions where later books in the series are listed on the dust jacket. This situation often prompts the question, "Can it still be a first edition?" For many books—such as James Bond novels or the Harry Potter series—it's crucial to ensure that the dust jacket or the author's list of works doesn't mention books published afterward, as this would indicate that your copy isn't a first edition. However, The Lord of the Rings deviates significantly from this standard. As the series was originally conceived as a single lengthy book and divided into three due to financial considerations, the publishers anticipated subsequent releases and utilized the dust jacket flaps to advertise them.