The Lord of the Rings — 1988 Houghton Mifflin Boxed Set (First State Alan Lee Slipcase)

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, March 3, 1988.

Three-volume hardback boxed set comprising:
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King.

Issued in the original first state illustrated slipcase featuring wraparound artwork by Alan Lee, depicting a dragon over a mountainous landscape. The front panel carries the metallic title panel design. This slipcase state predates the 1991 Tolkien Centenary issue and does not carry the Centenary logo.

Slipcase ISBN: 0-395-48932-6 (ISBN-13: 9780395489321).
Hammond & Anderson reference: p.162.

This slipcase design was first issued in March 1988 and was subsequently used for a range of later printings. As the set remains sealed, the specific internal printings cannot be verified without opening.

Cream-coloured spines with black lettering and Houghton Mifflin device at the foot. Uniformly bound volumes housed in the original publisher’s case.

Original publisher price sticker present on the shrinkwrap: FPT $49.95.

Condition:
Still sealed in the original publisher shrinkwrap. The wrap shows a vertical split along one side and tightening/creasing at the top and bottom edges, as visible in the photographs. The slipcase beneath appears clean and structurally sound. Unopened and unread.

An increasingly collectible early US illustrated boxed edition of The Lord of the Rings in first state slipcase.

Photographs shown are of the exact set offered.

Other Tolkien books available, including UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed/Numbered/Limited Editions.

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