First editions of The Lord of the Rings published in 1954 and 1955 by George Allen & Unwin.

On this weekend that we are honoring what would have been The Professor’s eleventy-eighth birthday I’m going to discuss Tolkien collectibles –a subject so vast that I will only be able explore it in the most general terms. From books to action figures to replica movie props to artwork, there are countless items of Tolkien-related memorabilia on the market. With such a vast array of choices there are interesting items available for collectors on any budget, from first editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings that run tens of thousands of dollars to “Frodo Lives” buttons from the 1970’s that cost a few bucks.

There are a number of online references and resources for Tolkien collectors. One of the most useful is TolkienCollector.com which has page after page of useful information in numerous different categories, including a detailed description of the differences between the various editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit-Movie.com site has a page dedicated specifically to collecting books and has a basic listing of prices.

First edition of The Hobbit (1938) published by Allen & Unwin.

The first edition of The Hobbit, published in the UK by George Allen & Unwin in 1937 had a print run of around 1500 copies. The wraparound dustjacket, designed by Tolkien himself, has become an iconic image. In jacket, it sells for between $15,000 and $30,000 depending on condition. Later impressions sell for several thousand less and jacketless copies go for around $1000-5000. The first American edition was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1938, with a different dust jacket design based on two of Tolkien’s interior illustrations. In jacket the first American edition sales for around $5000.

The first editions of the three volumes of The Lord of Rings were published in 1954, 1955 and 1955 respectively by Allen & Unwen. The set of three sells for $20,000 to $50,000 in jacket depending on condition. As with The Hobbit, later impressions of the first editions and jacketless copies sell for several thousand less. The first American edition set sells for around $10,000-20,000.

First edition of Farmer Giles of Ham published in 1949.

These books are out of the range of most collectors; however, there are Tolkien first editions that are more affordable. Farmer Giles of Ham, published by Allen & Unwin in 1949 sells for around $800-1200, with the 1950 first American edition going for $200-300. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, published in 1962 sells for $150-200. The first American edition sells for about $75. An interesting first edition published in 1968 is The Road Goes Ever On, an over-sized collection of Tolkien’s poems and songs from The Lord of the Rings set to sheet music (written by Donald Swann). Unlike most of Tolkein’s works, the American first edition of The Road Goes Ever On actually precedes the UK edition. Both editions sell for around $100-150.

1977 saw the posthumous publication of The Silmarillion, a collection of several pseudo-mythological works from the First Age of Middle-earth, edited and in some cases completed by Tolkien’s son Christopher. The Allen & Unwin first edition sells for around $100; the American first goes for $30-40.

Signed/numbered Lord of the Rings portfolio by Frank Frazetta published in 1975.

Aside from firsts, there are number of collectible commemorative and limited editions of Tolkien’s works. A few of the notable ones include the Silver Anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings, published in 1981 in a silver leather binding and slipcase which sells for around $450-500. The similar Golden Anniversy edition of The Hobbit, published in 1988 in gilt leather and slipcase sells for around $150. The release of the Lord of the Rings movies saw a number of very nice editions of Tolkien’s works released, many quite affordable in the under $100 range.

Beyond the books, there are countless items of Tolkien memorabilia, many dating from either the fantasy boom of the 1970’s or the recent Lord of the Rings movie craze. There are far too many items to detail here, but I refer the reader to the abovementioned TolkienCollector.com for more information. I will, however, mention a few items that I think are noteworthy.

In the realm of artwork, there are many prints and posters available by a number of great artists. The Hildebrandt brothers did several beautifully illustrated calendars in the ’70s that were hugely popular. There were many of these printed and they can often be found quite cheap on the internet. Frank Frazetta did a series of pen and ink drawings of scenes from The Lord of Rings that was published in a signed/numbered portfolio in 1975. It sells for around $200-300. Animation cels from Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings feature film occasionally come on the market and prices vary widely on them depending which charcters they depict. Illustrators John Howe and Alan Lee received a great deal of publicity due to their work on the Lord of the Rings films and their original art now sells in the thousans of dollars.

The highly sought after series of LOTR action figure released by Knickerbocker in 1979.

Several series of action figures were released in recent years with The Lord of the Rings movies and are still readily available at around retail price in secondary markets like eBay. The action figures that are really sought out by collectors though, is series that was put out by Knickerbocker in conjunction with the 1979 Bakshi The Lord of the Rings film. Figures for Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Aragorn, Gollum, and the Witchking were released, along with two mounts, Gandalf’s horse Shadowfax and the Witch King’s black steed. These figures are very rare and sell for hundreds of dollars even loose.

One popular area of collectibles in recent years has been replica movie props from the Lord of the Rings films. A wide assortment of weapons, clothing, armor, jewelry, pipes, etc. are available for purchase. A great site to shop for these items is TolkienTown.com which has a large inventory of this type of merchandise. A simple search on eBay will also turn up Tolkien merchandise of all sorts – toys, games, puzzles, statues, posters, and so on.

Collecting Tolkien books and memorabilia can be a fun and rewarding experience, but also quite daunting and expensive for the completist. There will no doubt be more merchandise available soon with the two Hobbit movies coming down the road, and the hunt for Tolkien collectibles goes ever on.