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#cb0023 - The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956 - € 795

A sixth-impression Fellowship dated December 1956 and issued in January 1957, with its original unclipped sixth-impression jacket and folding map.

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The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956

First UK Edition, Sixth Impression — December 1956

Published by George Allen & Unwin, London, this is the sixth impression of the first edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, the opening volume of The Lord of the Rings. Dated December 1956, it first became available in January 1957. The copyright page incorrectly calls it the fifth impression; the accompanying original dust jacket correctly states “Sixth Impression” on its front flap.

Printing and Production

Printed by Purnell & Sons Ltd, Paulton, Somerset, and London, in 11 on 12 point Imprint type. The print run comprised 3,500 copies, all for Allen & Unwin’s British issue. Purnell bound these in three batches: 1,500 in January 1957, 1,500 in April and 500 in September.

Binding, Maps and Original Jacket

In the publisher’s original red cloth, with gilt spine lettering and Ring device, and a red top edge. The title-page opening has runic borders. The edition includes A Part of The Shire opposite page 24 and the 1954 version of The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age on a folding sheet at the rear. The folding rear map is retained.

The original sixth-impression jacket carries the Ring-and-Eye design based on Tolkien’s artwork. It is unclipped, retaining the printed price of 21s net. The rear panel advertises The Hobbit and Farmer Giles of Ham. The jacket is fitted with a transparent protective cover.

Condition

The red cloth retains a strong colour and bright gilt lettering. There is rubbing at the spine ends, joints and corners, with a few small pale marks to the cloth and some wear to the board edges. The red top edge is retained; the other page edges show light toning and occasional spots.

The endpapers show browning, most pronounced in a vertical band on the front free endpaper. A previous owner’s name and a separate inscription dated Cambridge, August 1957, are written there in ink. There are a few small marks on the rear endpaper; the photographed text leaves are generally clean.

The jacket is browned, particularly along the spine, with surface rubbing, creasing and wear at the spine ends, folds and edges. The principal spine title remains clear, while the smaller lettering is faded and rubbed. The front Ring-and-Eye design remains well defined.

A sixth-impression Fellowship in original red cloth, retaining its folding map and the matching original unclipped jacket.

Bibliographical reference: Wayne G. Hammond and Douglas A. Anderson, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography, pp. 82–99.

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Pictures (click to enlarge):

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 1

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 2

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 3

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 4

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 5

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 6

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 7

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 8

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 9

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 10

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 11

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 12

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 13

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 14

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 15

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 16

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 17

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 18

The Fellowship of the Ring — First Edition, Sixth Impression, 1956, photograph 19

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