The Return of the Shadow – American Review Copy with Publisher’s Press Release

J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. First printing, with 1989 release material.

Volume VI of The History of Middle-earth and part one of The History of The Lord of the Rings. The title page and copyright page are dated 1988, and the complete number line ends in 1. The accompanying publisher’s release gives the American publication date as 5 January 1989. ISBN 0-395-49863-5.

The folded Houghton Mifflin publicity sheet reproduces the jacket design, gives the $19.95 cloth price and the publisher’s media contact, and prints review quotations from Publishers Weekly, the Hartford Courant and Mythprint. It is photographed in a protective sleeve and shows age-toning and folds.

Black cloth binding with gilt spine lettering and orange endpapers. The pictorial dust jacket is credited to Alan Lee on the rear flap; the front flap retains the printed $19.95 price. The jacket is housed in a clear protective cover.

The boards show light surface marks and rubbing. The jacket has light edge wear and toning to its pale areas; some conspicuous rippling in the photographs belongs to the clear protective cover. The photographed interior pages appear generally clean, with light age-toning.

Christopher Tolkien examines the earliest drafts of The Lord of the Rings, following the changing story and characters from the Shire towards Moria. The book includes reproductions of early maps and manuscript material.

A first-printing review copy accompanied by the publisher’s announcement of its American release.

Digital photos available on request.

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