Rare Tolkien books seen on ebay

Almost daily I go and visit ebay to see if there is something beautiful up for sale. It sometimes is quite boring, since I just see books up for sale which are either too expensive (mostly you can find them cheaper) or they are already in my collection in a better state.

There are other days when I just wished I was a millionair and could buy those marvellous items up for sale. I always dream of having the possibility to buy at least one of those marvellous 'signed letters' or '1st/1st impressions'. Some days I get very, very exited when I see real 'rare' books up for sale (funny enough most of those 'real rare' books are not that expensive compared to what they I would expect to be asked for them). Still they are expensive and I always have to pull myself together not to spend all my money on them (and leave nothing for my family).

Another thing with this books is that when they come up for sale I almost never find anything written about them anywhere (which makes them rather obscure and makes them look tricky)... luckely there are enough boards to go and ask others about those items (which I mostly do after I acquired the rare books first,... still scared to have others buy them under my nose while I spotted them).

So let us have a look at what I am talking about. Under here are some examples of real 'rare Tolkien books' which I have seen up for sale on ebay. Hopefully next time I see them up for sale I will use my own pages to get more info on those items myself.

Rare copies of the Hobbit

The Hobbit 1st edition

J. R. R. TOLKIEN - THE HOBBIT, OR THERE AND BACK AGAIN

First edition, first printing 1937. Published by George Allen and Unwin, London.
The Hobbit Foyles Edition
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien - The Childrens Book Club Edition. President Mr W A Foyle.

"This Edition Published 1942 by arrangement with George Allen and Unwin Ltd"
The Hobbit Folio Edition
JRR TOLKIEN: The Hobbit. Folio 1st Printing.

Published in London by The Folio Society in 1979.
The Hobbit Limited Deluxe edition
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1892 - 1973) - The Hobbit

Signed and limited #116 of 600 worldwideHarper Collins, 1997

Rare copies of the Lord of the Rings

The Two Towers uncorrected proof
J.R.R. Tolkien: THE TWO TOWERS. Uncorrected Proof.

Original proof for volume 2 of LORD OF THE RINGS.
The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien 1st US 1956
The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien 1st US 1956

A lovely copy of the first US edition, first impression of the third part of tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" books.
JRR TOLKIEN: The Lord of the Rings. Folio 1st Printing.
JRR TOLKIEN: The Lord of the Rings. Folio 1st Printing.

Published in London by The Folio Society in 1977.
The Lord of The Rings by JRR Tolkien - Signed by Alan Lee - 1991
The Lord of The Rings by JRR Tolkien - Signed by Alan Lee - 1991

Special edition Published by Harper Collins to celebrate 100 years since the Birth of JRR Tolkien.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1892 - 1973) The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1892 - 1973) The Lord of the Rings

Signed and limited #133 of 250 worldwide Harper Collins, 1992.

Rare copies of Roverandom

JRR Tolkien Limited Edition Roverandom only 25 copies
JRR Tolkien Limited Edition Roverandom only 25 copies
Thornton’s specially rebound edition of “Roverandom”.

Rare copies of the Silmarillion

Tolkien the Silmarillion limited edition
Tolkien the Silmarillion limited edition
red leather published 1982 using first edition sheets from 1977, printed by Clowes and Sons. Signed by Christopher Tolkien.
Tolkien - The Silmarillion - Signed Ltd Edition
Tolkien - The Silmarillion - Signed Ltd Edition
Signed by Christopher Tolkien and illustrator Ted Nasmith
Only 500 printed in a limited edition release 1998

Rare books and items signed by J.R.R. Tolkien

JRR Tolkien 2 signed letters 1968 Handwritten & Typed
JRR Tolkien 2 signed letters 1968 Handwritten & Typed
Perfect condition with envelope mentions "bag-end"
TOLKIEN SIGNED PREVIOUS OWNED BOOK
TOLKIEN SIGNED PREVIOUS OWNED BOOK
THE TITLE OF THE BOOK IS SPECIMENS OF EARLY ENGLISH. FIRST PUBLISHED 1886 THIS IS THE SECOND EDITION 1935.
J.R.R. Tolkien: Book from his personal collection signed 2x
J.R.R. Tolkien: Book from his personal collection signed 2x
Smith, Thomas : De recta et emendata linguae anglicae.
Tolkien: signed book from his personal collection
Tolkien: signed book from his personal collection
Adam Fox: English Poem on a Sacred Subject
Signed philology book inscribed to Tolkien by editor
Signed philology book inscribed to Tolkien by editor
Alistair Campbell : Thet Freske Riim - Tractatus Alvini
Signed philology book inscribed to Tolkien by author
Signed philology book inscribed to Tolkien by author
H. G Fieldler : Two Problems of the German Preterite...
A wonderful and rare Map of Middle Earth signed by JRR Tolkien
A wonderful and rare Map of Middle Earth signed by JRR Tolkien
with a hand written inscription "The Way for a Hobbit"...

Rare Academical Works

Songs for the Philologists by JRR Tolkien
Songs for the Philologists by JRR Tolkien
Stunning, rare only 14 thought to survive
Beowulf The Monsters and the Critics by JRR Tolkien
Beowulf The Monsters and the Critics by JRR Tolkien
1936 1st printing of booklet from the memorial lectures

Enjoyed this post? Click to get the RSS feed.


Spread the news about this J.R.R. Tolkien article: