Tolkien 📔Book Covers

Squint-eyed Southerner · May 19, 2020

Elthir said:
not really in line with the thread, but . . .

I imagine it's special to him.

Squint-eyed Southerner · May 19, 2020

The first paperbacks ever published:

That's Ace regular Jack Gaughan.

All else aside, Tolkien preferred these illustrations over the Ballantines, of which he could make neither head nor tail.

Starbrow · May 19, 2020

Is that supposed to be a Nazgul on Pegasus on the cover of The Two Towers

Erestor Arcamen · May 19, 2020

Squint-eyed Southerner said:
The first paperbacks ever published:

View attachment 6851 View attachment 6852 View attachment 6853
That's Ace regular Jack Gaughan.

All else aside, Tolkien preferred these illustrations over the Ballantines, of which he could make neither head nor tail.

That Nazgul (obviously Khamul the Easterling) looks like a cowboy riding a bucking bronco.

🍔

Elthir · May 20, 2020

I partially blame Ace Books for Tolkien's revised foreword. Cough. Anyway, that might be what I call "artistic brevity", merging a Nazgul's steed with a Ringwraith's horsey?

And despite having several, perfectly beautiful first edition Silmarillions, I want this one too. I didn't know this second book existed till today (Beren And Luthien)

Lee covers below. Not sure the second one was actually printed for the public.

I was fortunate enough to (be allowed to) purchase an edition (the English version) signed by Christopher Tolkien and Alan Lee. And I sent out my crebain very early to find a signed copy before the prices shot up. I'm old but sill quick!

🐾

Squint-eyed Southerner · May 20, 2020

Yeah, there are "collector's editions" of most of them.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

Elthir · May 20, 2020

I seem to remember a rumor (gasp!) that Christopher Tolkien preferred not to have a monster (in this case Glaurung) on the cover, and so the dragon version cover of COH (pictured above) wasn't ultimately used?

I might have dreamed that though. And speaking of nap time . . .

Squint-eyed Southerner · May 20, 2020

That is a pretty cool illustration though.

Elthir · May 20, 2020

Agreed.

Olorgando · May 20, 2020

Alice Alice said:
And nadmozg version too

View attachment 6839

I have seen that picture of Bilbo somewhere in my books … 🤔

Olorgando · May 20, 2020

Alice Alice said:
This is the best Tolkien's biography I've read (I have a few). Unfortunately, it seems it was never translated into English
View attachment 6836

Same picture as on Verlyn Flieger's "A Question of Time …" from 1997 - at least my paperback version of it.

Squint-eyed Southerner · May 20, 2020

Olorgando said:
I have seen that picture of Bilbo somewhere in my books … 🤔

Hildebrandts.

Squint-eyed Southerner · May 20, 2020

Elthir said:
Agreed.

I wonder if the rejected -- if that is the case -- cover for CoH would have sold more copies, because dragon-lovers.

Elthir · May 20, 2020

Squint-eyed Southerner said:
I wonder if the rejected -- if that is the case -- cover for CoH would have sold more copies, because dragon-lovers.

Hmm. Good question. This "dragon cover" painting isn't even in my edition of COH!

I wonder it it's in the English special, "boxed" (is that the right word? Slipcase?) edition?

Squint-eyed Southerner · May 20, 2020

I can't recall seeing it before either.

Olorgando · May 20, 2020

Squint-eyed Southerner said:
Hildebrandts.

Having a sneaking suspicion … the artists - Brothers Hildebrandt - who did artwork for Daniel Grotta's "Architect of Middle-earth"!
Originally (Grotta's book) fron 1976/78, reprinted (I wonder why?) in 1992.
The Hildebrandt copyright is from 1991, so perhaps the artwork was made-to-order for the 1992 re-issue.
Some of it pathetically Disney or even worse.
Probably from the 1993 or 1994 vacation by own car to Ireland (three weeks in Eire, four weeks total) where I grabbed everything that had JRRT printed on the cover, prowling bookstores in Dublin, Cork and Galway like Grendel in Heorot, to my wife's despair …

Alice · May 20, 2020

Oh and that's the only official Russian edition of Unfinished Tales. Still many Tolkien's works are not published

Olorgando · May 20, 2020

Squint-eyed Southerner said:
I don't think he would have liked being called "Peepee Tolkien" though. *
* Yeah yeah I know! I'm joking.
Jeez. They can't all be gems.

mazzly, we need that "rolleyes" in the like selection.
Gotta do it this way: 🙄🙄🙄

Elthir · May 20, 2020

The Hildebrandt brothers did have Disney aspirations [from their website]: "For years the brothers dreamed of becoming Disney animators. While they did not work for Disney, they became animators and documentary filmmakers, winning the Golden Eagle award for Project Hope."

Anyway, I kind of like this one of Galadriel at least -- from one of their early Tolkien calendars. Sometimes the figure "feels" like a sculpture somehow . . . and no doubt I have some "youthful attachment" when I see their art.

Olorgando · May 20, 2020

Let's see if this works:

OK, kind of large … next one

and the third

These are the covers of my Unwin Paperbacks / George Allen & Unwin paperbacks from 1984, 1983 and 1983 respectively.
TTT has over 100 loose sheets in it by now, which is why I bought the hardcovers illustrated by Alan Lee in 2002.

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