Something wonderful and beautiful and true.
It’s here! First edition, second printing. The lady did some crazy packaging job: bubble wrap, then paper wrap, then more bubble wrap, then cardboard box. I felt a little bad having this shipped via media mail, but it arrived in one piece.
No dust jacket (I ordered a facsimile dust jacket), but the book itself looks to be in decent condition considering it’s 71 years old. Now I just need to figure out how to store this thing. So beautiful…
The timing for media mail is quite tricky, but the third copy arrived today! I’ve already torn the dust jacket, which is just a piece of paper. I’m a little sad about that. This is the first copy of a Katherine Woods translation that I have, and judging by this unofficial publication history page, it must have been printed some time in the 1970s, likely mid-70s. (The dust jacket has a price of $7.95.)
This is the 70th anniversary edition. The cover and packaging for the book and CDs is quite nice. Not having heard it yet, I do question the choice of Viggo Mortensen aka “Mr. Mumbles” for the audio narration. Or maybe he’s practiced his enunciation a little since LOTR?
The other two copies that I won on ebay should be arriving soon. Much more excited about those older editions, but it’s nice to not have to use the pop-up book as my primary reading version.
