London: George Allen and Unwin, 1961. [Fantasy Classic] FIRST EDITION, the eleventh, eighth, and eighth impressions respectively. Complete in three volumes. Octavo (23 x 15 x 10cm), pp.423 [1]; pp.352; pp.416. With a folding map at the rear of each volume. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spines and top edges red. With the cream typographic dust-jackets, each priced at 21s. No ink names or ownership. Crisp, clean, fine copies of the books in fine jackets with some gentle toning to the spines. Housed in a modern card slipcase replicating the publisher's original box. A fantastical trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings" is one of the greatest books of the twentieth century, containing amazing details of a new mythology, never really surpassed. Basis for the epic film series directed by Peter Jackson, 'The Return' (2003) winning a record 11 Oscars from 11 nominations. This is an attractive set, bought at the same time in 1961 and carefully kept since.