Description
FIRST EDITION, 16mo, pp. 61, [3]. Many full-page illustrations included within pagination. Original pictorial boards printed in black, red and olive green. Edges rubbed.
Smith of Wootton Major. Illustrations by Pauline Baynes.
- London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd 1967
- Waynbe & Hammond A9a(1).
£60
Notes
The first edition of Tolkien's fairytale, which was first intended as a preface for a reprint of George MacDonald's The Golden Key but outgrew its original purpose. It is in Hammond and Anderson's first state binding, with the black background of the boards wrapping around the spine and edges; it was replaced during the print run with a variation in which the black is confined to the boards, with white spine and edges. Their speculation that the change was because the black edges too readily showed wear is supported by the condition of this copy.
