THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE EARTH. The Book of Lost Tales; The Lays of Beleriand; The Shaping of Middle-Earth; The Return of the Shadow; The Treason of Isaengard; The War of the Ring; Sauron Defeated; The Lost Road and Other Writings; Morgoth's Ring; The War of the Jewels; The Peoples of Middle-Earth. ---- Plus: Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle Earth

George Allen & Unwin; Unwin Hyman; Harper Collins. London. 1983 - 1996. FIRST EDITIONS. 1st impressions. 8vo. 13 volumes. A complete set of the 12 volume History of Middle Earth plus the extra Unfinished Tales volume. Original publishers boards in different colours but all with uniform gilt lettering to the spines. In the original multi colour dustwrappers. A couple of very minor rubs to the extremities of a couple of dustwrappers but overall a very near fine, bright and clean set of this first publication of Tolkien's entire History of Middle Earth, in which tales, songs, poems, maps, illustrations, genealogical tables, and even linguistic primers for Tolkien's languages, give the fullest picture available of one of the most thoroughly imagined worlds ever created in the history of fantasy literature. The enormous content presented in these twelve volumes was only hinted at in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and was drastically condensed into a single volume in the Silmarillion which was published in 1977. The prices on the inside front flaps are as follows. 1. No printed price but a price sticker (A & U £12.50) on inside flap. 2. No printed price but a price sticker (A & U £12.50) on inside flap. 3. Printed price (£14.95). 4. No printed price but price sticker (A & U £14.95). - Hammond Variant 2. 5. Printed price (£16.95) 6. Printed price (£17.95). 7. Printed price (£17.95). 8. Printed price (£17.95). 9. Printed price (£20.00). 10. Printed price (£25.00). 11. Printed price (£25.00). 12. Printed price (£25.00). Unfinished tales. No printed price.