He further adds "In addition, the text has been updated to include all the corrections from the 50th Anniversary edition, so it’s the first time the final text and final pictures will have appeared in the same volume."

Supervised by Christopher Tolkien, and based on the latest compared text, the couple made fixes to typographical errors and mistakes, and corrections to the text when it was certain that the latest text reflected Tolkien's preference. Whenever those were clear, spelling and capitalization were regularized. More substantial textual mistakes (see below) were conservatively considered by case. [4] Christopher Tolkien was positive in "getting rid" of such inconsistencies that distract observant readers, pointing out that were his father notified about them, he would immediately correct them. [1] Since it was first published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, its sweeping fantasy and epic adventure has touched the hearts of young and old alike. Over 100 million copies of its many editions have been sold around the world, and occasional collectors' editions become prized and valuable items of publishing.In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.

The text of The Lord of the Rings has been revised and corrected multiple times throughout its several publications and editions, but new errors, mainly typographical, always have been introduced, especially after each resetting of type; [1] notable cases were when the printer reset the metal types of The Fellowship of the Ring soon after its publication, and in 1994 when HarperCollins digitized the text. [2] New errors are introducedThis new edition includes the fiftieth-anniversary fully corrected text setting and, for the first time, an extensive new index. Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull for many years also studied and compared the texts and their inconsistencies. Consulting the abovementioned works, along with their own examination of the Marquette manuscripts, the Allen and Unwin archive, unpublished correspondence between Tolkien and Allen & Unwin, and of course volumes 6-9 of The History of Middle-earth, they had compiled "an exhaustive and up to date catalogue" of errors, corrections and their emendations throughout the publication's history. J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but while he studied classic works of the past, he was creating a set of his own.

For the 50th anniversary, the couple proposed a new effort to produce a text as close as possible to the authorial intent. Tolkien's publishers and the Tolkien Estate agreed. HarperCollins provided searchable text files that helped detect inconsistencies in spelling and punctuation, despite Tolkien's stated preferences. They presented 229 such questionable points to Christopher Tolkien. [3] Some mistakes that the editors failed to notice, or new ones introduced by bugs of the software, were further corrected for the 2005 reprint. [1] Changes to the text [ edit | edit source ] Prologue So I believe I've narrowed down a good selection of options, but if you could give some advice on which one is best, other options I hadn't considered, etc, it would be very much appreciated! While I am willing to 'shell out' please also consider that I would not like to get anything criminally expensive, and value should be factored as well! From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.The Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings 1) (978-0007203543) and The Two Towers (Lord of the Rings 2) (978-0007203550) and The Return of the King (Lord of the Rings 3) (978-0007203567) In addition I also read that when comparing the books people are talking mostly of the first copies printed. Can anyone let me know what the quality is between the two editions available today? For the first time ever, a very special edition of the classic masterpiece, with the complete text and illustrated throughout by the author himself. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

An example of textual mistake has been the phrase "from the lowlands to the Dwarf-kingdom" (Book II, Chapter 6) which has been changed to "from the lowlands of the Dwarf-kingdom" in a subsequent edition (whereas Moria had no lowlands); the couple restored it to its original correct form. [4] Since it was first published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, its sweeping fantasy and epic adventure has touched the hearts of young and old alike. Over 150 million copies of its many editions have been sold around the world, and occasional collectors’ editions become prized and valuable items of publishing. J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was in the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but while he studied classic works of the past, he was creating a set of his own. Now another big factor is whether to get hardcovers of the three books or go for a 3-in-1 edition. I know LOTR was intended to be seen as one work/book (I know, there's debate) but I'm trying to think practically. While it might be even more impressive to have them all in one, nice volume, that could also prove unweildly or uncomfortable for reading and bringing places, and I know my sister travels with books on her person all the time when she's reading one.This special 50th anniversary edition includes three volumes of The Lord of the Rings ( The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King), along with an extensive new index—a must-own tome for old and new Tolkien readers alike . The distance between the Brandywine Ferry to the Brandywine Bridge has been corrected to ten instead of twenty. From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion. Both J.R.R. Tolkien and his son, Christopher Tolkien, had prepared lists of such errors to guide emendations for future editions. Steven M. Frisby had also made comparisons of different LotR copies, and researched Tolkien's original manuscripts in the libraries at the Marquette University. David Bratman also authored A Corrigenda to The Lord of the Rings in The Tolkien Collector #6. Similar lists and comments have been made independently by scholars such as Douglas Anderson, Charles Noad and Arden Smith. David Brawn, the publishing director of Harper Collins, says "Alan has scanned all the original paintings. The reproductions in all earlier editions have been sourced from transparencies of the paintings, but now Alan has scanned them all, we have been able to reproduce the original colours and wring every last detail out of the pictures. I think some people will be surprised at how much extra detail can now be seen."