A first edition copy of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy with the original dust jackets, maps, and in-text illustrations has gone up for auction.
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The books up for grabs, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, are being auctioned by Heritage Auctions.
At the time of this story’s publication, there are 22 days left in the auction, with the current bid at $63,000, but the set could be worth even more.
One listing for a set of the first printing of the trilogy is currently going for more than $186,000 on ApeBooks.com.
The first book in the trilogy was published in the United Kingdom by George Allen & Unwin in July 1954, with only 3,000 copies being a part of the first edition. In November 1954, 3,240 first-edition copies of the second book were printed.
By the time the third book was published in October 1955, the conclusion to the series had 7,000 copies printed in the first issue.
Tolkien had initially wanted to print the entire story as one but was forced by his publisher to split the story into three different books.
The books are considered classics on their own but have grown even further in popularity thanks to their on-screen adaptations directed by Peter Jackson.
The films grossed $2.9 billion worldwide and have resulted in even more spinoffs from the main trilogy. Jackson also directed the film trilogy based on Tolkien’s The Hobbit, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings that was published first by the author.
Most recently, Amazon Prime has adapted an even earlier story from the realm of Middle Earth in the latest show “Rings of Power.”
As for the books currently up for auction, all three are considered first impressions with their “extremely rare first state dust jackets.”
The books are also said to be in good shape with minimal wear and tear.
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