The Lord of the Rings. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1972. Tenth Impression (paperback issue). Handsomely bound in quarter black morocco over green speckled boards, spine with raised bands, title & compartments stamped in gilt. Top-edge coloured red with silk ribbon marker.  A nice bright copy.

The complete trilogy, first published in this format in one volume 1968.

Tolkien worked on this epic, not so much a trilogy as a long novel, from the publication of The Hobbit (1937) until the early 1950s. Beginning with the appearance of the second edition of 1966 and the nearly simultaneous appearance of the paperback edition in America, The Lord of the Rings became one of the best-selling works of fiction of the 20th century. This is the paradigmatic work of modern heroic fantasy. . . . Its success was not immediate, but its publication in paperback was an event sufficiently momentous to transform completely the market situation of heroic fantasy, and hence bring about a new era in its history. The Lord of the Rings made fantasy a significant publishing category and inspired a deluge of new works. The astonishing reception and influence of this work qualify it as one of the most remarkable literary phenomena of the 20th century (Neil Barron: Fantasy Literature: A Reader’s Guide).