1979 First Paperback: Six Price Variants

In the post Price Net £4.95: Re-Pricing The Silmarillion, 1977–1992, I documented (at length) dustjacket price changes in respect to UK hardback copies of The Silmarillion (1977); I have given far less thought to paperback pricing. However, I have collected a few different pricing examples of the first UK paperback edition of The Silmarillion (1979). I will document these here.

 

The first paperback edition carried different pricing information (to the back cover) depending on intended market. Somewhat surprisingly, the paperback was also, like the UK hardback, re-priced—by the publisher UNWIN PAPERBACKS (GA&U's paperback imprint)—to reflect changes (increases) in price. GA&U did this (again) using price labels (foil stickers). I have only noted the use of price labels on second impression copies.

 

Unlike the re-pricing of hardback copies, which occurred over a period of at least ten years (from the early 80s through to the early 90s), the first paperback edition was only in print for a comparatively short period of time; it was superseded by a new paperback edition—with Roger Garland cover illustration—in 1983. Therefore, re-pricing is unlikely to have occurred more than a couple of times over this short (four year) timeframe. I record only one price label example here.

 

THE SILMARILLION (1979): SIX PRICE VARIANTS

 

List undoubtedly incomplete. 

More pricing/re-pricing variations probable. 

Rough order, no priority implied. 

 

^ The Silmarillion. London: Unwin Paperbacks, 1979. First impression. Printed [and bound] in the UK by COX & WYMAN Ltd (London, Reading and Fakenham). Typeset in 10 on 11 point Times. ISBN 0 04 823153 3. Printed prices (back cover): UK £1.25, Australia $3.95, Canada $2.75. [Personal copy S.023.]

 

^ The Silmarillion. London: Unwin Paperbacks, 1979. First impression. Printed [and bound] in the UK by COX & WYMAN Ltd (London, Reading and Fakenham). Typeset in 10 on 11 point Times. ISBN 0 04 823153 3. Printed price (back cover): Australia $3.95. [Personal copy S.165.]

 

^ The Silmarillion. London: Unwin Paperbacks, 1979. First impression. Printed [and bound] in Canada by WEBCOM Limited. ISBN 0 04 823153 3. Printed price (back cover): UK £1.25. Price label (front cover): Canada $3.95. [Personal copy S.145.]

 

^ The Silmarillion. London: Unwin Paperbacks, 1979. Second impression (1979). Set, printed and bound in the UK by COX & WYMAN Ltd (London, Reading and Fakenham). Typeset in 10 on 11 point Times. ISBN 0 04 823153 3. Printed prices (back cover): UK £1.25, Australia $3.95, Canada $2.95, New Zealand $3.50. [Personal copy S.186.] 

 

^ The Silmarillion. London: Unwin Paperbacks, 1979. Second impression (1979). Set, printed and bound in the UK by COX & WYMAN Ltd (London, Reading and Fakenham). Typeset in 10 on 11 point Times. ISBN 0 04 823153 3. Printed prices (back cover): UK £1.25, Australia $3.95, Canada $2.95, New Zealand $3.50. Price label (back cover): UK £1.50. [Personal copy S.193.] 

 

^ The Silmarillion. London: Unwin Paperbacks, 1979. Second impression (1979). Set, printed and bound in the UK by COX & WYMAN Ltd (London, Reading and Fakenham). Typeset in 10 on 11 point Times. ISBN 0 04 823153 3. Printed price (rear cover): New Zealand $3.50. Price label (back cover, covering printed prices): UK £1.50. [Personal copy S.166.] 

 

 

I will leave more detailed bibliographical comment for another (future) post. I might add, I also have two 1979 paperback copies of The Silmarillion previously owned by (Tolkien's second son) Michael Tolkien. One copy was sent to him pre-publication (February 1979) and is an example of one of the ‘trimmed’ copies mentioned by Holford (TOLKIENBOOKS.NET 62180). Both copies are otherwise identical, in respect to pricing, to the first example given above. I should maybe write something about these two interesting little copies at some point.