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TOLKIEN**, J.R.R. - Edited by Christopher Tolkien: : BEREN AND LUTHEN.[Illustrated & SIGNED by Alan Lee.]

LONDON.HarperCollinsPublishers,2017.

ISBN 9780008214197.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrator SIGNED,1st edn. [Complete number line 1.] FINE-/FINE.Previous presentation (?) inscrptn partially removed leaving a residual trace of same and a couple of tiny pin-prick holes through excessive erasure/ rubbing.Illustrator Alan Lee's handwritten,black ink inscrptn thus: 'To Graeme with best wishes Alan Lee' to the title page,and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,matt,colour pictorial artwork by Alan Lee,illustrated dw/dj panels and spine/backstrip,with capitalised,embossed white-lettered author's name (J.R.R.'s,),and white, flat printed Editor's name (Christopher's) along with illustrator's similarly coloured+lettered name to front panel of dw/dj; spine/backstrip with capitalised white-initialled+ilustrated Tolkien monogram at head,capitalised white lettered original author name,capitalised, embossed,gilt-lettered title and publisher's white-lettered+illustrated colophon to foot of same,rear panel with another scenic illustration.Negligible shelf-wear,bumping, creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges bright,crisp, clean without foxing/spotting; contents bright, tight,solid and clean - near pristine,inscrptn erasure excepted - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread apart from my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp, unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettering,a gold+white striped headband and immaculate plain pale khaki endpapers.UK,8vo HB+ dw/dj, illustrator SIGNED,1st edn,8-288pp [paginated] includes Plates list/table,a Preface,Notes on the Elder Days,Beren and Luthien,an Appendix (Revisions to 'The Lay of Leithian',List of Names and a Glossary; plus [unpaginated] half-title,illustrator SIGNED title page,a dedication,a Contents list/table,9 full-page colour illustrations by Alan Lee interspersed throughout the text and the book - all present and called for.                       Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional,and even internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation.It is only the interior fault described that prevents a slightly higher grading.Despite that,it really is still an exceptional,exemplary example for its cleanliness,brightness and lack of other detracting faults. A collectable and uncommon Signed first edition. The tale of Beren and Lúthien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Returning from France and the battle of the Somme at the end of 1916, he wrote the tale in the following year. Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Lúthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril.  In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and Lúthien from the comprehensive work in which it was embedded; but that story was itself changing as it developed new associations within the larger history. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he has told the story in his father's own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.                                            Please contact seller,because of the weight/ value of this item,for correct insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!  N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE.    ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **                       

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj, illustrator SIGNED,1st edn.
Illustrator SIGNED+dedicated.

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