J.R.R. Tolkien – The Silmarillion – First Edition 1977 – Printed by William Clowes & Sons

A first edition, first printing of The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien, published by George Allen and Unwin in 1977. A near fine book with light toning to the text block, a small surface scrape to the top edge of text block. In a similarly near fine wrapper with bumping to the upper edge and fading to the spine. Map in rear still present. This, the Clowes edition and rare thus.

Edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay. It tells of Eä, a fictional universe that includes the Blessed Realm of Valinor, the once-great region of Beleriand, the sunken island of Númenor, and the continent of Middle-earth, where Tolkien’s most popular works—The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—are set. After the success of The Hobbit, Tolkien’s publisher Stanley Unwin requested a sequel, and Tolkien offered a draft of the writings that would later become The Silmarillion. Unwin rejected this proposal, calling the draft obscure and “too Celtic”, so Tolkien began working on a new story that eventually became The Lord of the Rings.