Unfinished Tales — First HarperCollins Hardback, 1992, in Purple Dust Jacket

A distinctive HarperCollins edition

J.R.R. Tolkien, Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, edited with introduction, commentary, index and maps by Christopher Tolkien. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992. First HarperCollins hardback edition, ISBN 0-261-10215-X. In the publisher’s blue cloth boards with gilt spine lettering and the original glossy purple dust jacket bearing Tolkien’s monogram.

First published in 1980, Unfinished Tales gathers narratives and essays from the First, Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth. Christopher Tolkien’s introductions, commentary and notes preserve the unfinished texts and explain their manuscript history. The collection includes accounts of Tuor, Túrin and Númenor, as well as writings on Galadriel and Celeborn, the Quest of Erebor, the Istari and the Palantíri.

This 1992 edition marked the work’s appearance as a HarperCollins hardback. It retains the map of Númenorë opposite page 168; the 1980 map of the West of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age appears across the endpapers. This purple-jacketed issue was not reprinted in the same form. Later hardbacks reused its ISBN, making the 1992 publication date and physical design especially useful for identifying it.

Condition of this copy

A very well-preserved example. The blue cloth boards and gilt lettering are fresh, and the original purple jacket remains bright and glossy. The photographed pages and maps are clean and crisp. The photographs show the book, jacket, binding, maps, title page, copyright page and selected interior openings in detail.

Reserved. Price €1,800. Reference PC0210.

Status: Reserved. This copy is currently unavailable for purchase.