London: George Allen and Unwin, 1954, 1954, 1955. First editions. All first printings, with volume three in Hammond's revised third state with the slipped text and the signature mark 4 on p. 49. A Fine set. Three volumes, octavo (215 x 136 mm). Folding map in red and black at rear of each volume. Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in red morocco, spines lettered and decorated gilt, "Eye of Sauron" to front boards gilt, dark green endpapers, gilt edges. Housed in a red leather entry slipcase.

A timeless classic of the fantasy genre and a cornerstone of modern pop culture, The Lord of The Rings follows the adventures of the hobbit Frodo Baggins and his compatriots as they battle the Dark Lord Sauron and attempt to destroy the ring that gives him power over Middle Earth. Tolkien began developing the first book in the series when he was forty-five and spent twelve years writing it. The books, which were inspired by Tolkien’s interest in subjects as far reaching as mythology and philology, went on to become a sensation – selling over 150 million copies and being translated into over thirty languages. The books were also adapted into the Oscar award winning film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson and starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, and Viggo Mortensen.

C. S. Lewis wrote that “no imaginary world has been projected which is at once as multifarious and so true to its own inner laws; none so seemingly objective, so disinfected from the taint of an author’s merely individual psychology; none so relevant to the actual human situation yet so free from allegory." Tolkien, a noted scholar of Old English, conceived the idea for his tales set in “Middle Earth” while in the trenches of the First World War; its immense influence has been felt ever since publication. Fine (Item #7707)