The Lord of the Rings — Alan Lee Illustrated Edition in Red Leather by Breanne Herrera

Alan Lee’s Illustrated Lord of the Rings

The complete Lord of the Rings in one substantial volume, illustrated by Alan Lee and individually rebound in red leather by Breanne Herrera of The Bookbindery. The Houghton Mifflin text brings together The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, with the Appendices and Index.

Lee’s fifty colour paintings were commissioned for the illustrated edition first published in 1991, ahead of the centenary of Tolkien’s birth. They accompany the narrative throughout the volume, from the landscapes of the Shire to the ruined kingdoms and battlefields of Middle-earth. The colour frontispiece, half-title and runic borders of the main title page are retained within the new binding.

This is a later printing of the Houghton Mifflin illustrated edition, published in Boston. The title page is undated; the copyright page gives ISBN 0-395-59511-8 and records printing and binding in Singapore for Imago. The Singapore printing identifies this as the state introduced no earlier than 2001; the exact printing date is not stated. It is an individual artistic rebinding, rather than a publisher’s numbered or signed limited edition.

Red Lambskin Binding by Breanne Herrera

Full red top-grain lambskin, richly grained and shaded, with raised bands across the unlettered spine and a plain rear board. The front carries gold-coloured title lettering above a circular openwork metal medallion, with four ornate metal cornerpieces. The dark, antiqued appearance of the metalwork contrasts with the deep red leather.

The added marbled endpapers combine sweeping patterns of blue, green, yellow, red and cream. The binder’s accompanying material identifies handmade marbled endpapers made from recycled cloth and top-grain lambskin as the binding materials. A red ribbon marker is fitted.

The original accompanying binder’s documentation is retained: a marbled business card, a folded leaflet with a decorative red wax seal, and a separate stamped and signed sheet describing the materials. The leaflet identifies Breanne Herrera and The Bookbindery and explains her use of traditional bookbinding methods. The binding is a later work on the illustrated Houghton Mifflin text block.

Condition

A very well-preserved and attractive copy. The leather retains its strong red colour and supple-looking grain, with light handling creases and minor superficial rubbing at the extremities. The front lettering and ornamental metalwork remain clear and attractive.

The marbled endpapers and the photographed half-title, title, copyright, text and colour-plate openings are clean and well preserved. The page edges are clean, and the red ribbon marker and accompanying binder’s documents are present. The photographs show the binding from all sides, the internal presentation, several of Lee’s colour illustrations and the binder’s documentation.

Bibliographical reference for the underlying Houghton Mifflin illustrated edition: Wayne G. Hammond and Douglas A. Anderson, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography, p. 175.

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