The Fireside

  Note: the colour red has been sporadically throughout this post, to capture a 'likeness' to the newly-published special edition. Now that the new single-volume special edition of The Lord of the Rings with illustrations by Tolkien is now out, I can add further to a previous post about how a 70th Anniversary Edition Boxed Set in 2024 could be executed. This hypothetical-at-this-point edition would use the 2021 special edition in standard hardback format as the template. The image above is taken from the slipcased edition, and I can see this exact same design going directly onto the box.   Before we begin, a little history.   In 2004, there was a 4-book boxed set ( The Lord of the Rings as three parts, plus the Reader's Companion ). Then, in 2014, there was a 60 th anniversary boxed set, which is quite similar to the 50th set aesthetically, with some updates to the text. 2024 will be the 70th anniversary. So, can we expect another 3-part boxed set with the Co...

  I'll begin by saying that for the 50th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings , there was the boxed set which presented the novel in three parts, with the accompanying Companion . 10 years later, there was a 60th anniversary boxed set which was aesthetically VERY close to the 50th one. 2024 will be the 70th anniversary. So, can we expect ANOTHER 3-part boxed set with the Companion to be issued? I think 'yes', and this is how I think it would happen. This October, there will be a Tolkien-illustrated single-volume edition coming out (as a standard hardback, a collector's edition, and even as an eBook!). I believe that the 70th anniversary boxed set - which would come out about 3 years later, in 2024 - will take that edition, and all of its features (Tolkien's illustrations, red ink, ribbon-marker (if the Oct 2021 edition features one, that is!), the red sprayed page edging, etc) and divide it into 3. The dustjackets would feature the same artwork that was used for th...