The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien, First U.S. Edition, First Printing, in Original Dust Jacket, 1977

Tolkien, J. R. R., edited by Christopher Tolkien and Guy Gavriel Kay. The Silmarillion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977. First U.S. Edition, First Printing. Octavo. In original publisher’s green cloth boards, gilt stamped on front and spine, gilt and white lettered on spine, and original unclipped dust jacket. 

Presented is the first U.S. edition, first printing of Tolkien’s posthumously-published masterpiece, The Silmarillion. This U.S. edition was published in Boston by Houghton Mifflin Company on September 15, 1977, in simultaneous release with the U.K. edition by George Allen & Unwin. The U.S. edition was printed from the same typesetting as the British sheets, bound and jacketed for the American market by Houghton Mifflin. It is presented here in the original cloth boards, with the Tolkien monogram stamped in gilt on the front and the spine lettered in gilt, and the original pictorial dust jacket.

The Silmarillion is the cornerstone of Tolkien’s mythology, presenting the ancient history of Middle-earth long before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It recounts the creation of Arda, the forging of the Silmarils by the Elf Fëanor, and the long wars and sorrows of the First Age. Written in a high, epic style reminiscent of ancient scripture and legend, it encompasses the Ainulindalë, the Valaquenta, the Quenta Silmarillion, the Akallabêth, and Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age.

Edited by Christopher Tolkien, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, this book represents the culmination of more than half a century of his father’s myth-making. Christopher Tolkien’s editorial task was immense. He organized fragments and carefully assembled the text from numerous manuscripts, drafts, and notes, all left in various stages of completion, in order to produce a coherent narrative that revealed for the first time the scope and depth of Tolkien’s legendarium.

Upon publication, The Silmarillion became an immediate bestseller. Its first printings in both the U.S. and U.K. sold out within days. Public and critical responses were divided: while some readers, expecting an adventure novel similar to The Lord of the Rings, found the tone austere and the prose too demanding, others praised its mythic power, linguistic beauty, and the vast imaginative architecture it unveiled.  The New York Times called it “a creation of singular beauty and coherence,” while The Times Literary Supplement praised its “grandeur of conception.”  In the years since, The Silmarillion has come to be recognized as the keystone of Tolkien’s creative vision, indispensable to understanding Middle-earth and its mythic origins.

CONDITION:

First American edition, first printing. Octavo.  Fine condition. Green cloth boards, with gilt stamped Tolkien monogram on front and spine, spine lettered in gilt and white. Strong red top edge. A couple very minor smudge marks. Otherwise extremely clean. No shelf wear. Tight. Interior pages clean. With "Father" printed instead of "Farmer" in Farmer Giles of Ham line on page 3 and broken type on page 229. Fold-out map of Beleriand printed in red and black at the back. 365pp. 

Fine jacket. Some light creasing and very small tears due to shelf wear. Not price clipped, priced $10.95. Protected in mylar. 

Book Dimensions: 9 ¼” H x 6 ½” W x 1 ⅝” D.

Accompanied by our company’s letter of authenticity.