it's bonded/composite leather, so small bits of leather mixed with plastic/rubber put on paper or cloth backing, and it's absolutely criminal that it's allowed to be called leather. also to be fair that's not the worst tight binding i've seen (the regular deluxe range tends to be much worse) but yeah i share that pet peeve
Thats a beautiful set, but i do think each book should be color coded. Green and brown for fellowship and the journey across eregion. Brown and grey for the plains of rohan. And royal blue and gold for gondor and the one ring.
I wish that a deluxe Lord of the rings were smythe-sewn. I would also like to see a seven-volume printed on archival paper with better than library binding. I love the millennium edition but the paper is dog-ugly. Would love to see a seven-volume cloth or leather binding with good, big dimensions. It won't save any shelf space, but it would be so pleasant to read.
I just got my copy in the mail as well and yeah that is the strangest leather I have seen, it seems more like a fancy hardback version then a leather-bound version. But the paper quality feels much better than the large red version.
With a well bound new book, you gently crack it 6-7 times throughout the book, going from front to back. Don’t just lay it flat and make one mega-stress in the middle.
Yeah, going through the comments here in this page and looking at the video, it seems that no one knows how to break in a book. I didn't see anything wrong with that binding. You just need to go front to back and toward the middle, just like you would a Bible, and it'll lay flat in short order. I do think that it's a little cheaply made for the price they're charging, but there's nothing wrong with the sewing as another one of these comments alleges.
These look really nice to me and I like the idea of a set of new hardback LotR books after owning some very worn paperbacks from my childhood. But $220+ price point is insane and unreasonable. They would have to be genuine handmade leatherbound editions illustrated by Narvi himself to justify that cost.
maybe they would lay open if you were to work them in? I've started doing a break-in where I lay the cover flat and then take 5-10 pages from front and back and then push them down flat and run my fingers along the inner area of the page near the binding. that seems to help with laying flatter.
Yep, definitely helps when I work them in. Even after several minutes of it, though, it never laid open quite as well as I would like, and only worked toward the middle of the book(s). This isn't a make-or-break issue to me, deciding whether a book is well made - it's just a quality-of-life thing.
I wish I could find that 90’s copy you have… that’s the one I remember being on the shelf as a kid and I always loved how that book felt to hold and flip through.
They are, LOTR fans will buy them anyway so the publishers barely put any effort into them. But if you buy something from Folio the quality will be night and day compared to these overpriced special editions of LOTR. I mean, the guy says it's bonded leather, *bonded leather!* .. that's criminal for that price. Bonded leather is horrible, I would prefer faux plastic / rubber leather over bonded leather. Bonded leather doesn't feel like real leather anyway, the fake stuff comes closer to real leather and it will last unlike bonded leather
You seem to be the only one who knows this, and you're correct. Bad glue, cheap binding cloth, improper sewing, cheap thread all cause this. I watch Four Keys Book Arts :)
It's a shame I don't have the time nor the machinery to handbind these textblocks but perhaps it's something I'll do in the future. I feel like the textblocks of these Deluxe editions are fine but the whole finishing from gluing and binding the spine to the booo covers could be a thousand times better. Use actual good calf leather, bind with actual thread and linen as a spine strengthening etc. There's probably a market for high quality LOTR books.
I purchased these for $239...they are beautiful, I have a huge collection of Tolkien, plus all deluxe versions last 10 years...these are my very favorite to even open
I’m glad you did review it and I went out and purchased today, and let me just say … yes, it is worth it! I have four book shelves dedicated to Tolkien so as you might imagine I have multiple editions but dare I say my shelves would not be complete without this. BTW, I got one art card each.
I have the Houghton Mifflin Second Edition that I bought in 1971 for $25 which at the time was a lot for a starving student. This one is all I need. I think I have read it about 15 times.
I think by the time I bought mine (the big red slipcased edition) in the late '70's the price was around $50 (and like you it's my preferred and only needed edition)! And when I worked at a B. Dalton Bookseller shop HM reissued it again without a slipcase and very cheap binding for $60 ... I never recommended it to any customer and I even wrote a letter to HM saying how bad it was! 🤣 I'm not a fan of Lee's limited palate illustrations, they always seem too melancholy to me... I know it will never happen but an edition with the paintings by Tim Kirk I would snap up in a heartbeat!!! ❤
I bought the small leather delux edition during black friday for 35 but also comes with the the hobbit. I was starting to regret it until I heard the price of these. The "leather" on those seems nicer too.
Thank you for this review. I’m not a fan of the river illustrations seen along each of the book’s page edges when the books are closed. Also, the books not laying flat when open is not a good sign when thinking of the book’s price versus quality 👀
The neighbours might get a different idea about Professor Craig is doing when they hear him with „ohh, I like that. That feels goood, ohh yeah“ 😅 Sorry that was a cheap shot, hope some can have a laugh.
Thank you for the review I prefer the multiple book versions of the LOTR so this set interested me. I have the 50th and 60th anniversary editions as well as the 2021 Illustrated editions so….when the Amazon price went down to $176 I couldn’t resist even with a few of the warts you pointed out in the review. The set looks great but in fairness if Amazon can sell them for this price it’s probably the price point from which the publisher should have started. If the publisher did that I would skip the Amazon “middle man” and buy from the publisher or independent stores.
I own several copies of LOTR, including another Alan Lee illustrated set. This one doesn't impress me as worth the list price. If you can find it deeply discounted and you don't have a Lee illustrated copy already it might be worth a look, but I'm gonna pass.
Well, let me see. I own a De Luxe Edition, printed by George Allen and Unwin Publisher in 1969. One volume, boxed, black binding with silver and gold title details. One volume, as it was printed on elegant tissue thin India paper - bible paper. The pages are stitched to the spine in signatures, as with only the best books. Personally, I don`t believe any of these books come anywhere close to the 1969 edition, and since it is in mint condition, would command a reasonable price, although I have no intentions of selling it -ever. Yes, I also own a single volume illustrated by Alan Lee, but it is simply not in the same class of production as the Allen and Unwin.
Have to say considering the price point , It looks like Harper Collins's typical lack of Quality control , and I have a lot of Harper collins so-called "deluxe editions" the quality of these looks really poor, and there must be a reason that Amazon are currently selling this for £145
I am yet to buy my first lord of the rings books i am loving the design of it and would fit my shelf nicely with the rest of my books. The cost is high just trying to weigh my oprions here as it does cost $550 here in Australia but it does look beautiful and i love the blue and the illustrations. Hmmmmmm I also wanna check out the hobbit deluxe edition.
I mean if you can't afford the 3-volume Folio Society Limited Edition, now going for upwards of $6K on the secondary market, this is DAMN good alternative - btw, can you look and see where it's printed and bound? (country)
I have the original signed single Edition from 1991. I also have signed C Tolkien and Nesmith editions of The Hobbit and Silmarrilion. My collection has over 40 deluxe editions including deluxe Folio numbered editions of LOTR and The Hobbit. Also just got he 2024 signed Hobbit from Folio Society. Salutations from Belfast Northern Ireland 🇬🇧
I'm wondering if the stiff binding is an American manufacturing issue? I noticed the LOTR 2021 illustrated deluxe was produced by Hougton Mifflin Harcourt in America. While the subsequent Silmarillion, Hobbit, and now this edition were all made by William Morrow. And all of these latter books have the very tight binding you described. I felt a decline in quality from the LOTR to the Silmarillion standard deluxe editions, and thus decided not to get the Hobbit.
For a first time buyer, there's so many choices I can't figure it out. I'm looking for an illustrated edition which is also a complete set with the Hobbit and The Silmarillion, these deluxe editions seem great, but I can't tell if these are meant to go together with The Hobbit Deluxe (Illustrated by the author) edition. Do you have any pointers?
There's a lot of cover space for larger images and, to me, the accents around them are a bit too basic/generic. As for the covers, I would prefer full leather and along the out edges I don't understand the need to make a three-piece image that only makes sense when it's all together. The first two books basically just have river rocks. And as he says, you're not going to put them 'backwards' on the shelf, so it's just more gimmicky. If not a profile illustrations of the characters as they are venturing then I would prefer simple gilding, gold or silver preferably in this case to go with the blue tone. And here's an idea, doing the illustration along the outer page edges mimicking the mithril shirt? And the map I would prefer it had more detail on it. I'm no artist, but I could do a better map than that. Overall, I would say not worth $250.
Got mine today and also have the mentioned string issue, cloth sewing quality is rather mediocre. This being said: Easton or Folio (Limited) are way more expensive. The books are still gorgeous and the price point is still fair in my opinion.
Tight binding is a total no go for me. Binding is the sign of quality for me. This one is... MAYBE too tight for mat tastes, just borderline. but they sure do look great. (I am the type of person who would throw away the slipcase - I have zero use for it and don't think slipcases look nice, at all)
Yeah, I'm an amateur leathersmith, and that ain't anything I recognise as leather. If it's bonded it's the worst bonded I've come across, if it looks and feels like cardboard, it's cardboard in my eyes. The rest is pretty good, especially as I got it in one of the flash 50% off sales.
This book should be either printed as one volume (I think this was Tolkien's preference) or as 6 books, since it's a story in six parts (not three). Like Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov (cannot recommend that one high enough BTW).
Although it's well documented that Tolkien viewed it as one single literary piece, it's entirely impractical and uncomfortable to read it as a single novel. If I want a workout, I'll go to the gym, not read a book. Having it split into multiple volumes doesn't in any way diminish the story. I have a single-volume version and I never read it because it's just far too heavy. My three volume set was lost at some point in my life so I'm in the market but ... not sure about this set.
I disagree! We have almost a thousand books and bar the ones when I was in my teens, I've never cracked a spine. My partner is the same. If anyone comes in the house and does so will no longer be welcome! Most people like their books looking ragged, I don't! I hate it, I buy a new copy as soon as I can. Ragged books with broken spines look dirty, can't help thinking people are touching the pages when you don't know where their hands have been. I have regretted buying second hand books! I like my books looking new and looked after and I've read my books. It's not hard to read whilst keeping it pristine. That's just my partner's and my preference though. Just putting it out there that there are some book freaks who like to keep their books in good condition.
High, Craig. This was another really interesting video and a great opportunity to learn more about what quality bookmaking involves. (Hmmm, that sounds like praise for bookies.) Also a pleasure to see you again. I miss your live "review" sessions and enjoyed participating in them. You remain one of the most engaging folks on RUclips. Hope this finds you doing well.
So the main question: worth the difference from the box set of Harper Collins 2021? With the Hobbit in it? I got it for 80 pounds. As I see the difference is 7 new illustrations in LotR and the stronger box. But that has the Hobbit. I’m not sure. They took the idea from Folio as it seems.
The 2021 boxset is beautiful but it has regular editions: glue binding, dust jacket over normal hardcover board, paper is acid free but what you'll find in every other hardcover/trade paperback at the $20-30 price point (considering the books individually). So the difference in price is not only the visual eyecandy of the new box and arts but knowing this set uses sewn binding and high quality paper, like Folio books. Whether or not that's worth paying more of will be entirely a customer's decision
*Bonded leather!?* .. for that price? That's literally criminal man. That's insane lol. Bonded leather is garbage, faux leather made from rubber/plastic is 100x better than bonded leather. And it's equally annoying that they bind the books in a way that doesn't allow you to lay them flat on the table. For this price you can get a very nice folio book or two or real leather from easton press. Honestly, these "special editions" all seem like a scam. The publishers know that LOTR has a huge fandom and that they barely have to put any effort into it. I mean it's also kinda crazy that you opened it and it had debris and fraying of the fabric. It's mind boggling to me.
Brandon Sanderson has ruined me when it comes to leather-bounds, I haven't liked any LOTR leather-bounds I've seen because they just don't live up to the quality and the fact that none of them are full leather.
@TheLegendarium I mean completeness in that you already have a complete set of lotr deluxe editions, and you feel compelled to add to the set. It's like a trading card set with that final card to add. Even when you already have other versions of the same thing... see 2020 Hobbit and lotr illustrated book set. Exactly the same illustrations. The only big difference is that you can call it that is the art around the chapter headings. The binding does feel cheap. How dare HC mess it up so badly. From afar, it looks good on the book shelf. I have not seen other unboxings. Prob out of shame.
@@LJ.613 This is not about an "average book" LMAO it's about a specialist bound book that's supposed to at THAT level. And comparing it to those other high end bound books, this one is AVERAGE LMAO
i am so sick of the Tolkien Estate continually releasing endless subpar "deluxe" editions. Money grab city. I'm done falling for this stale lembas garbage.
Or, try something new. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ "Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind’s journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul’s fate revealed. In time, all points converge, hope’s strength resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe’s endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again." 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨ --Diamond Dragons (series)
Wish the page edge spraying trend would die out, it's so kitschy and childish looking. Why make LOTR look like every other YA Fairy smut novel crowding the shelves of corporate book stores?
It is laughable how you did not do any research into this edition before doing your ‘review’. You make so many mistakes and misjudgements this video should come with a warning - misinformation label attached. You are a terrible reviewer.
@ Oh, the edges next to the leather! Like I would pull or cut the loose threads off but then if I went to read the book I would inevitably get more loose threads. I don’t know if I had one with bad binding or what but it just kept happening.
I had the same problem with mine. I had to fix it. But the gold easily faded after a careful first reading. I can hardly see the title anymore. I’m not aware of the different versions but mine has a William Morrow logo. My Silmarillion and Hobbit with Collins logo looks and feels better. It’s weird because I got them all on the same site. LOTR looks like a knock off in comparison.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
it's bonded/composite leather, so small bits of leather mixed with plastic/rubber put on paper or cloth backing, and it's absolutely criminal that it's allowed to be called leather.
also to be fair that's not the worst tight binding i've seen (the regular deluxe range tends to be much worse) but yeah i share that pet peeve
In the shoe world it's called "leather board"
Thats a beautiful set, but i do think each book should be color coded.
Green and brown for fellowship and the journey across eregion.
Brown and grey for the plains of rohan.
And royal blue and gold for gondor and the one ring.
The other reviews/unboxings I’ve seen only had one of each painting. You got lucky with two lol
I wish that a deluxe Lord of the rings were smythe-sewn. I would also like to see a seven-volume printed on archival paper with better than library binding. I love the millennium edition but the paper is dog-ugly.
Would love to see a seven-volume cloth or leather binding with good, big dimensions. It won't save any shelf space, but it would be so pleasant to read.
I would recommend the Easton Press version. I can say it is pristine quality.
@pointvector1951 I imagine that's true, but I...hate the design?
I just got my copy in the mail as well and yeah that is the strangest leather I have seen, it seems more like a fancy hardback version then a leather-bound version. But the paper quality feels much better than the large red version.
I have that 1992 Illustrated Edition. Reading it right now, in fact - "The Forbidden Pool."
With a well bound new book, you gently crack it 6-7 times throughout the book, going from front to back. Don’t just lay it flat and make one mega-stress in the middle.
Exactly! I watched him do that and was shouting "Dude!! Not like that!!"
Yeah, going through the comments here in this page and looking at the video, it seems that no one knows how to break in a book. I didn't see anything wrong with that binding. You just need to go front to back and toward the middle, just like you would a Bible, and it'll lay flat in short order.
I do think that it's a little cheaply made for the price they're charging, but there's nothing wrong with the sewing as another one of these comments alleges.
Outstanding review! Very thorough and honest. Thank you.
These look really nice to me and I like the idea of a set of new hardback LotR books after owning some very worn paperbacks from my childhood. But $220+ price point is insane and unreasonable. They would have to be genuine handmade leatherbound editions illustrated by Narvi himself to justify that cost.
maybe they would lay open if you were to work them in? I've started doing a break-in where I lay the cover flat and then take 5-10 pages from front and back and then push them down flat and run my fingers along the inner area of the page near the binding. that seems to help with laying flatter.
Yep, definitely helps when I work them in. Even after several minutes of it, though, it never laid open quite as well as I would like, and only worked toward the middle of the book(s). This isn't a make-or-break issue to me, deciding whether a book is well made - it's just a quality-of-life thing.
New illustrations: there are at least two new illustrations per book, one of them has three. These are in addition to the prints on the covers.
@@lanceyoung9928 excellent! Time for me to go hunting
Great review, exactly what i was looking for.
The font type is stated in the colophon.
Duh. Excellent reminder, thanks. I guess I'm a little out of practice!
I wish I could find that 90’s copy you have… that’s the one I remember being on the shelf as a kid and I always loved how that book felt to hold and flip through.
It would have been interesting to see this compared to the Folio Society edition - similar price point for a deluxe 3-vol. box set.
If the book can't open flat it's because it's cheaply made, and these honestly look like it.
I’m flabbergasted because I just tested hardbacks at random from my own bookshelf and every single one opens flat. Even basic editions.
They are, LOTR fans will buy them anyway so the publishers barely put any effort into them. But if you buy something from Folio the quality will be night and day compared to these overpriced special editions of LOTR. I mean, the guy says it's bonded leather, *bonded leather!* .. that's criminal for that price. Bonded leather is horrible, I would prefer faux plastic / rubber leather over bonded leather. Bonded leather doesn't feel like real leather anyway, the fake stuff comes closer to real leather and it will last unlike bonded leather
You seem to be the only one who knows this, and you're correct. Bad glue, cheap binding cloth, improper sewing, cheap thread all cause this. I watch Four Keys Book Arts :)
Which version is best to purchase then. A folio ? @@pointvector1951
To me it looks like the opposite.
Cant lay flat because its higher quality
Mine only had the one illustration in the fellowship of the ring. think maybe you got ...lucky?
It's a shame I don't have the time nor the machinery to handbind these textblocks but perhaps it's something I'll do in the future. I feel like the textblocks of these Deluxe editions are fine but the whole finishing from gluing and binding the spine to the booo covers could be a thousand times better. Use actual good calf leather, bind with actual thread and linen as a spine strengthening etc. There's probably a market for high quality LOTR books.
Dude! I only got several lotr fine editions from people who didn't know what else to get me. Merry xmas!
I purchased these for $239...they are beautiful, I have a huge collection of Tolkien, plus all deluxe versions last 10 years...these are my very favorite to even open
Yay! Your review of the new deluxe illustrated box set has inspired me to buy the 1996 centennial edition lol
@@Adamadam-zc6pe It's one of my favorites! Higher saturation in the paintings, too, so they really pop. I wonder what that one goes for these days.
I’m glad you did review it and I went out and purchased today, and let me just say … yes, it is worth it! I have four book shelves dedicated to Tolkien so as you might imagine I have multiple editions but dare I say my shelves would not be complete without this. BTW, I got one art card each.
@@stevehoran6011 Scandal! 😅
He means worth it to most people... Of course it is for ppl that COLLECT Tolkien's works
@ oh well, I think you’re probably right
Thank you very much for this review! Do you if the printing quality of the pictures better than the ones in the 2020 Alan Lee box set?
The sprayed edges on this feature the picture that was used as the end papers of the folio society Lord of the rings
@@heydon2012 Very cool! Good catch
$250 for maybe 3 new illustrations? That's a hard pass.
I have the Houghton Mifflin Second Edition that I bought in 1971 for $25 which at the time was a lot for a starving student. This one is all I need. I think I have read it about 15 times.
I think by the time I bought mine (the big red slipcased edition) in the late '70's the price was around $50 (and like you it's my preferred and only needed edition)! And when I worked at a B. Dalton Bookseller shop HM reissued it again without a slipcase and very cheap binding for $60 ... I never recommended it to any customer and I even wrote a letter to HM saying how bad it was! 🤣
I'm not a fan of Lee's limited palate illustrations, they always seem too melancholy to me... I know it will never happen but an edition with the paintings by Tim Kirk I would snap up in a heartbeat!!! ❤
I bought the small leather delux edition during black friday for 35 but also comes with the the hobbit. I was starting to regret it until I heard the price of these. The "leather" on those seems nicer too.
Yeah, not falling for these, for that price, and binding quality.
Thank you for this review. I’m not a fan of the river illustrations seen along each of the book’s page edges when the books are closed. Also, the books not laying flat when open is not a good sign when thinking of the book’s price versus quality 👀
£150 in the UK, which is around $170 on Amazon in a limited time deal.
The neighbours might get a different idea about Professor Craig is doing when they hear him with „ohh, I like that. That feels goood, ohh yeah“ 😅
Sorry that was a cheap shot, hope some can have a laugh.
Thank you for the review I prefer the multiple book versions of the LOTR so this set interested me. I have the 50th and 60th anniversary editions as well as the 2021 Illustrated editions so….when the Amazon price went down to $176 I couldn’t resist even with a few of the warts you pointed out in the review. The set looks great but in fairness if Amazon can sell them for this price it’s probably the price point from which the publisher should have started. If the publisher did that I would skip the Amazon “middle man” and buy from the publisher or independent stores.
I saw these on a 60% off sale already. It made me wonder about the quality of the binding.
I own several copies of LOTR, including another Alan Lee illustrated set. This one doesn't impress me as worth the list price. If you can find it deeply discounted and you don't have a Lee illustrated copy already it might be worth a look, but I'm gonna pass.
Well, let me see. I own a De Luxe Edition, printed by George Allen and Unwin Publisher in 1969. One volume, boxed, black binding with silver and gold title details. One volume, as it was printed on elegant tissue thin India paper - bible paper. The pages are stitched to the spine in signatures, as with only the best books. Personally, I don`t believe any of these books come anywhere close to the 1969 edition, and since it is in mint condition, would command a reasonable price, although I have no intentions of selling it -ever.
Yes, I also own a single volume illustrated by Alan Lee, but it is simply not in the same class of production as the Allen and Unwin.
Have to say considering the price point , It looks like Harper Collins's typical lack of Quality control , and I have a lot of Harper collins so-called "deluxe editions" the quality of these looks really poor, and there must be a reason that Amazon are currently selling this for £145
I am yet to buy my first lord of the rings books i am loving the design of it and would fit my shelf nicely with the rest of my books. The cost is high just trying to weigh my oprions here as it does cost $550 here in Australia but it does look beautiful and i love the blue and the illustrations. Hmmmmmm
I also wanna check out the hobbit deluxe edition.
I mean if you can't afford the 3-volume Folio Society Limited Edition, now going for upwards of $6K on the secondary market, this is DAMN good alternative - btw, can you look and see where it's printed and bound? (country)
I second this question, where is it printed?
I have the original signed single Edition from 1991.
I also have signed C Tolkien and Nesmith editions of The Hobbit and Silmarrilion.
My collection has over 40 deluxe editions including deluxe Folio numbered editions of LOTR and The Hobbit.
Also just got he 2024 signed Hobbit from Folio Society.
Salutations from Belfast Northern Ireland 🇬🇧
Neeeerd! Well done, then. 👍🏼
@ cockwomble
I'm wondering if the stiff binding is an American manufacturing issue? I noticed the LOTR 2021 illustrated deluxe was produced by Hougton Mifflin Harcourt in America. While the subsequent Silmarillion, Hobbit, and now this edition were all made by William Morrow. And all of these latter books have the very tight binding you described. I felt a decline in quality from the LOTR to the Silmarillion standard deluxe editions, and thus decided not to get the Hobbit.
My sir, that looks amazing.
12:20 you have to manage to get the right focus on camera...
For a first time buyer, there's so many choices I can't figure it out. I'm looking for an illustrated edition which is also a complete set with the Hobbit and The Silmarillion, these deluxe editions seem great, but I can't tell if these are meant to go together with The Hobbit Deluxe (Illustrated by the author) edition. Do you have any pointers?
I still have my 2nd edition printing😊
Paid 160$ for it today. Really excited for it to come in!!
There's a lot of cover space for larger images and, to me, the accents around them are a bit too basic/generic. As for the covers, I would prefer full leather and along the out edges I don't understand the need to make a three-piece image that only makes sense when it's all together. The first two books basically just have river rocks. And as he says, you're not going to put them 'backwards' on the shelf, so it's just more gimmicky. If not a profile illustrations of the characters as they are venturing then I would prefer simple gilding, gold or silver preferably in this case to go with the blue tone. And here's an idea, doing the illustration along the outer page edges mimicking the mithril shirt? And the map I would prefer it had more detail on it. I'm no artist, but I could do a better map than that. Overall, I would say not worth $250.
Got mine today and also have the mentioned string issue, cloth sewing quality is rather mediocre. This being said: Easton or Folio (Limited) are way more expensive. The books are still gorgeous and the price point is still fair in my opinion.
Tight binding is a total no go for me.
Binding is the sign of quality for me.
This one is... MAYBE too tight for mat tastes, just borderline.
but they sure do look great.
(I am the type of person who would throw away the slipcase - I have zero use for it and don't think slipcases look nice, at all)
Yeah, I'm an amateur leathersmith, and that ain't anything I recognise as leather. If it's bonded it's the worst bonded I've come across, if it looks and feels like cardboard, it's cardboard in my eyes. The rest is pretty good, especially as I got it in one of the flash 50% off sales.
I got the platinum series DVD set for 6 bucks at a thrift store...all 3.... not sure what they are worth. I might hold on to them.
This book should be either printed as one volume (I think this was Tolkien's preference) or as 6 books, since it's a story in six parts (not three). Like Dostoyevsky's Brothers Karamazov (cannot recommend that one high enough BTW).
Although it's well documented that Tolkien viewed it as one single literary piece, it's entirely impractical and uncomfortable to read it as a single novel. If I want a workout, I'll go to the gym, not read a book.
Having it split into multiple volumes doesn't in any way diminish the story. I have a single-volume version and I never read it because it's just far too heavy. My three volume set was lost at some point in my life so I'm in the market but ... not sure about this set.
@@TheNudeBrewer Tell it to Dostoyevsky.
The text is way too small to read comfortably in any of the latest editions.
Wait... What is a Centenary
It says 3 inserts included so apparently you did get a mistake! Lucky!
Hiw much is that huge version.. you go through
Just checked the price here. DKK 2,800 almost $ 394😮
@@laustpeternielsen-norman9569 yowza
To be fair, if you have any 32 yo books that will not lay flat, either they were rarely opened, or need to be sold.
Truth.
I disagree! We have almost a thousand books and bar the ones when I was in my teens, I've never cracked a spine. My partner is the same. If anyone comes in the house and does so will no longer be welcome! Most people like their books looking ragged, I don't! I hate it, I buy a new copy as soon as I can. Ragged books with broken spines look dirty, can't help thinking people are touching the pages when you don't know where their hands have been. I have regretted buying second hand books! I like my books looking new and looked after and I've read my books. It's not hard to read whilst keeping it pristine. That's just my partner's and my preference though. Just putting it out there that there are some book freaks who like to keep their books in good condition.
@@joyhana3542 , i have the same opinion about all the care that must be taken when reading and preserving books.
We have book readers
We have book collectors
We have Museum Curators
and everyone in-between😁
High, Craig. This was another really interesting video and a great opportunity to learn more about what quality bookmaking involves. (Hmmm, that sounds like praise for bookies.) Also a pleasure to see you again. I miss your live "review" sessions and enjoyed participating in them. You remain one of the most engaging folks on RUclips. Hope this finds you doing well.
@@paulolson thanks Paul! Good to see you here!
So the main question: worth the difference from the box set of Harper Collins 2021? With the Hobbit in it? I got it for 80 pounds. As I see the difference is 7 new illustrations in LotR and the stronger box. But that has the Hobbit. I’m not sure. They took the idea from Folio as it seems.
The 2021 boxset is beautiful but it has regular editions: glue binding, dust jacket over normal hardcover board, paper is acid free but what you'll find in every other hardcover/trade paperback at the $20-30 price point (considering the books individually). So the difference in price is not only the visual eyecandy of the new box and arts but knowing this set uses sewn binding and high quality paper, like Folio books. Whether or not that's worth paying more of will be entirely a customer's decision
@ makes sense.
I received only one copy of the black rider card. I am fairly sure yours was a mistake.
For that price - no it isn't. Besides, after the editions with the author's illustrations what more we could get?
*Bonded leather!?* .. for that price? That's literally criminal man. That's insane lol. Bonded leather is garbage, faux leather made from rubber/plastic is 100x better than bonded leather. And it's equally annoying that they bind the books in a way that doesn't allow you to lay them flat on the table. For this price you can get a very nice folio book or two or real leather from easton press. Honestly, these "special editions" all seem like a scam. The publishers know that LOTR has a huge fandom and that they barely have to put any effort into it. I mean it's also kinda crazy that you opened it and it had debris and fraying of the fabric. It's mind boggling to me.
I've watched a lot of these. The one common thing is that I haven't seen one version ANY of you like. Not one!
@weaselkj I liked this one. Found some issues, and probably not worth the price tag, but I liked it.
Maybe I should spoil myself with a copy of LOTR in the original English.
I don't like the map. It looks "modern". How many Alan Lee illustrations are in total in this edition, 60 you said?
Brandon Sanderson has ruined me when it comes to leather-bounds, I haven't liked any LOTR leather-bounds I've seen because they just don't live up to the quality and the fact that none of them are full leather.
He just announced dragonsteel is gonna do the wheel of time, so hopefully they become the new go to for leatherbounds
I feel ripped off. HC again fleecing those of us that cherish completeness. Would have preferred new pics by Ted Naismith.
Ted Nasmith would've been great, as would Kip Rasmussen. But what do you mean by 'completeness'? It's certainly not missing anything.
@TheLegendarium I mean completeness in that you already have a complete set of lotr deluxe editions, and you feel compelled to add to the set. It's like a trading card set with that final card to add. Even when you already have other versions of the same thing... see 2020 Hobbit and lotr illustrated book set. Exactly the same illustrations. The only big difference is that you can call it that is the art around the chapter headings. The binding does feel cheap. How dare HC mess it up so badly. From afar, it looks good on the book shelf. I have not seen other unboxings. Prob out of shame.
I have the Easton Press versions, and I can say, it's much better than these things.
Pricey for this average quality
"average" quality would be the trade paperbacks at gas stations. This is far beyond average quality.
@@LJ.613 Did you even watch the video? sheesh
@@TheOtherKine yes. Have you seen an average quality book before?
@@LJ.613 This is not about an "average book" LMAO it's about a specialist bound book that's supposed to at THAT level. And comparing it to those other high end bound books, this one is AVERAGE
LMAO
@@TheOtherKine ok, so we agree it is not average quality
i am so sick of the Tolkien Estate continually releasing endless subpar "deluxe" editions. Money grab city. I'm done falling for this stale lembas garbage.
johnny-deep-…That lembas reference alone was worth the entrance fee…
Well said. The Easton Press editions are excellent. Not sure if they are still printed or not.
Big no no there splaying a book out flat on the table. There’s no need to do that unless you can read two pages simultaneously.
This.
Makes no sense. Why would you not want it to be easier to read?
Not ordered from local or independent bookstore, but from Amazon. Shame.
No it is not worth the price now. Maybe in years to come I will purchase it
Anyone know if there are edits and/or censorship in these later editions? They tend to secretly do that kind of stuff especially these days.
Or, try something new.
🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
"Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind’s journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul’s fate revealed. In time, all points converge, hope’s strength resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe’s endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again."
🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
--Diamond Dragons (series)
I don’t understand buying books to be shelf queens.
Wish the page edge spraying trend would die out, it's so kitschy and childish looking. Why make LOTR look like every other YA Fairy smut novel crowding the shelves of corporate book stores?
Eh, I think it looks cool
It is laughable how you did not do any research into this edition before doing your ‘review’. You make so many mistakes and misjudgements this video should come with a warning - misinformation label attached.
You are a terrible reviewer.
I tried to watch one of your reviews so I can see how it's done, but I'm having trouble finding one! Can you share a link to your channel?
My biggest problem with my red Lord of the Rings quarter leather bound were the strings coming off. 🫤
Do you mean those edges like I was pointing out? Or are you talking about the ribbon bookmark?
@ Oh, the edges next to the leather! Like I would pull or cut the loose threads off but then if I went to read the book I would inevitably get more loose threads. I don’t know if I had one with bad binding or what but it just kept happening.
Yep, it was a mass production issue for that edition. Mine has the same issue with the fabric fraying. Pretty much everyone I've seen says the same.
I had the same problem with mine. I had to fix it. But the gold easily faded after a careful first reading. I can hardly see the title anymore. I’m not aware of the different versions but mine has a William Morrow logo. My Silmarillion and Hobbit with Collins logo looks and feels better. It’s weird because I got them all on the same site. LOTR looks like a knock off in comparison.