Tolkien Library Store - Custom cloth bindings - The Silmarillion

#cb0054 - The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera - € 350

The 1998 American illustrated Silmarillion, rebound in blue top-grain lambskin by Breanne Herrera, with ornamental metalwork, marbled endpapers, a red ribbon marker and the binder’s signed leaflet.

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The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera

The 1998 Illustrated Silmarillion in an Individual Leather Binding

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, edited by Christopher Tolkien and illustrated by Ted Nasmith, published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York, in 1998. This copy of the American illustrated edition has been individually rebound in blue leather by Breanne Herrera of The Bookbindery.

The title page retains the decorative Elvish-script borders of the illustrated edition. The copyright page gives ISBN 0 395 93946 1, identifies the typeface as Imprint, and records printing and binding in Italy by Rotolito Lombarda SpA, before the present custom rebinding.

Blue Lambskin Binding by Breanne Herrera

Fully bound in vivid blue top-grain lambskin, with raised bands on the spine and gilt lettering on the front board. A circular openwork metal medallion forms the centrepiece, with four ornate gold-coloured metal cornerpieces framing the front cover. The rear board is plain blue leather.

The binding is finished with handmade marbled endpapers in green, blue and gold tones and a red ribbon marker. The binder’s accompanying notes identify the leather as lambskin and describe hand-set lettering and gilding using a nineteenth-century letterpress, together with handmade endpapers produced from recycled cloth.

The illustrated text block dates from 1998; the ornamental leather binding is a later, individual work. The accompanying marbled business card and folded binder’s leaflet are retained. The leaflet bears The Bookbindery’s stamp and the binder’s signature, and has a decorative red wax seal on its folded exterior.

Illustrations and Contents

Nasmith’s full-page colour paintings illustrate the creation of the world, the landscapes of the First Age, the wars of Elves and Men, and the downfall of Númenor. The text comprises Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Quenta Silmarillion, Akallabêth and Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, with genealogical tables, an index and an appendix on elements in Quenya and Sindarin names.

The coloured map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North, drawn by Christopher Tolkien and coloured by H.E. Riddett, has been retained at the rear, inside the added marbled endpapers.

Condition

A fine, well-preserved copy. The blue leather retains its strong colour, with light handling creases and a few small superficial rubs. The front lettering and ornamental metalwork remain attractive. The marbled endpapers, retained map and photographed text and colour-plate openings are clean and well preserved, with the paper a warm cream colour.

The red ribbon marker, marbled business card and stamped and signed binder’s leaflet accompany the volume.

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Pictures (click to enlarge):

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 1

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 2

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 3

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 4

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 5

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 6

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 7

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 8

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 9

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 10

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 11

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 12

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 13

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 14

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 15

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 16

The Silmarillion — Ted Nasmith Illustrated Edition, 1998, in Blue Leather by Breanne Herrera, photograph 17

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