[Rare book] The Lord of the Rings printed on Bible paper by George Allen & Unwin
I’ve always been a fan of The Lord of the Rings, I’ve watched the extended versions several times, I even went to visit the studio Weta and the different versions of Hobbiton in New Zealand and to Guatemala.
A few months ago, I discovered via the account of an antique and rare book dealer the existence of a book “The Lord of the Rings” printed on Bible paper.
It never crossed my mind to own one, because the books I had seen so far were either very large or in 3 volumes. But printed on Bible paper, this book is very small, featherweight, and barely thicker than “The Hobbit”. And above all, it’s available in a single volume ! Yes, one book for the entire trilogy!
After doing some research (over several months), I wasn’t sure I wanted to buy it, because I made the mistake of looking for the first edition mentioned in the video (very expensive), while later editions (with a box rather than a slipcase) were cheaper. Also, I learned that a Pléiade edition was in the works, and that I’d surely get my “Bible paper” version in French. But the idea of owning one in the original English started to take root, like the effect the Ring has on Frodo, little by little. And there I was, frantically searching all the sites for a copy of my “Precious”.
I think I could have found one easily and cheaply if I lived in London and went around the antiquarian bookshops, but I was in Bulgaria, soon to be in France, and my only available source was eBay. After several days of systematically checking all the listings, I set my sights on a rather worn copy (the box nearly in tatters), crumpled pages, 5th edition (1976) by George Allen & Unwin. On eBay, all international purchases are automatically handled by eBay’s shipping and customs service, so that adds a significant amount to the final bill. 8 days later, the package finally arrived.
What a joy to hold it in my hands. The 1193 pages weigh nothing (I wonder why eBay charged me such huge shipping costs for a featherweight book). Apart from the first 20 pages being very crumpled, the rest hasn’t even been read. The maps are still attached to the book.
This India paper is even thinner than the one used for the Pléiade. That’s why it’s called “india paper” (< 30 grams), while Bible paper is more like 38 grams. This paper is extraordinary because it retains its whiteness after almost 50 years. It’s a real pleasure to leaf through this book delicately. I’m now used to reading on this kind of paper; the transparency doesn’t bother me at all. This paper wrinkles a bit more than Bible paper, but it remains sturdy and doesn’t tear easily.
I notice when uploading the photos that the paper looks more wrinkled than it does in real life.
You can see that both maps are folded and attached to the book. These maps are printed on a thin paper but thicker than India paper. These maps leave marks on the book. This is not the case for the better-condition books I’ve seen; I think this one was flattened, crushed under the weight of other books.
I tried to flatten them with an iron and it had some effect, but it’s almost 50 years of creasing, so we do what we can. The book isn’t only black and white; there are a few color passages though. However, there are no illustrations, except for the 3 maps.
The binding is top-notch; the book opens completely and can be laid open on the table. This is a quality that modern, heavily glued books no longer have. That’s why I appreciate sewn-bound books so much. Notice the slightly colored edges, marbled style.
Given the condition of the box (no surprise it’s in tatters because it’s hard to open and you’re forced to pull on the corners and damage them), I decided to create a new slipcase with 3mm foam board (I couldn’t find anything better in August in France), to be closer to the older editions. I followed the tutorials here , and and there. Before doing that, I made a test slipcase for The Little Prince that I’ll show you later.
The book is bound with a sort of leatherette paper, so I opted for a printed faux leather paper (caviar style) for the outside and a handmade Nepalese paper (lokta), gold, for the inside. I salvaged the label from the box and glued it onto my new slipcase.
It seemed wise to salvage the label, because if one day I treat myself to the Deluxe version of The Hobbit (update, I’ll eventually get it, indeed), at least the two books will have something in common. Plus, the inscriptions at the top and bottom in Tengwar and Cirth have meaning. They’ve been there since the first edition and deserve to be included somewhere.
And here’s the before/after:
I wrapped the book in clear film because the gilding on the cover seems a bit fragile. I added a ribbon to the slipcase so you can slide the book out easily. I hesitated between a black ribbon and a gold ribbon, but not wanting to draw attention to the gold ribbon, I preferred black. And for an optimal reading experience, I created a bookmark from the slipcase paper:
I want it to be gold, embossed, sparkling, enticing, like the first time I saw the “Precious” in the film. The text was cut from metallic vinyl using my machine Silhouette Portrait 3, then glued onto the leatherette paper. It took me several hours because of the thinness of the characters and micro-details that were too hard to peel and stick.
I’m so proud of my “precious.” I absolutely love the case. After leaving it to dry overnight and take its final shape under a stack of heavy books, everything (book, case, and bookmark) is now on my nightstand, ready to be read. I’m very happy with this purchase because I’ve only read the French version so far, and I’ll enjoy rereading the original, especially in such a beautiful edition. Even though the book isn’t that rare (it doesn’t cost a fortune), it’s not numbered or signed, but it’s still a prized collector’s item, and Tolkien fans are very proud to own one in their library.
For collectors, here are some photos I found on Reddit of the same collection to show you the size of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
There’s another version from the same publisher (now HarperCollins), in half-binding, with gold edges as I like, also on “India paper,” but I absolutely don’t have the budget for it (the cheapest is three times the price of mine).
This one will go well with The Silmarillion from the same publisher, deluxe edition.
I hope you enjoyed this article. I can’t wait for Gallimard to finally release the Pléiade version of Lord of the Ringsit’s exactly the kind of book that deserves to be printed on Bible paper.
