Item 10B
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
1953, 1954, 1955
Galley Proofs
Corrected by the Author
These volumes form an extraordinary record of the creation of one of the greatest fantasy epics of the 20th century, The Lord of the Rings. You are looking at galley proofs, the first printed versions of the novels. Each volume contains written annotations by Tolkien’s editors, along with some corrections made by Tolkien himself. He is wrangling with making real on the printed page the complex world he has created—questions about representing runes, questions about how to describe creatures that do not exist. Some of Tolkien’s changes resulted in creating phrases that resonate as iconic today, such as the first lines of The Fellowship of the Ring, changing “…and in the shadows bind them” to “and in the darkness bind them.”
What will you discover next?
Another story set in a fantastical imaginary world?
Go To Item 4B
A religious book documenting exile and faith?
Go To Item 11B