Talk:The Lord of the Rings

How I got Houghton Mifflin to fix the dustjacket

I was introduced to The Lord of the Rings circa 1963, in college, when it was only available in hardbound, and known to a relatively small group of people. After reading them, I immediately bought The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which was a very significant expense for a college student. I deeply regret not having preserved the dust jacket of The Hobbit, because I made an interesting discovery. The U. S. edition was, of course, published by Houghton Mifflin. The dustjacket said Houghton Mifflin on it.

But, around the edge of the dustjacket, is a decorative inscription in runes. Unlike the more well-developed fictional languages and alphabets in The Lord of the Rings, it turned out on inspection to be a direct letter-for-rune transliteration. And the runes said "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, etc. etc. ... and published by George Allen and Unwin." I immediately wrote Houghton Mifflin pointing out their terrible mistake, got a polite reply, and in the next edition the runes, as well as the ordinary letters, said "Houghton Mifflin."

I still have the book, but since I am a reader and not a book collector the dustjackets long ago wore out. I keep meaning to see whether the book collectors noticed the change and whether I would have had a valuable rarity if I'd kept the dustjacket... Dpbsmith 17:10, 10 February 2007 (EST)

The books are amazing along with the movie. No one can try to make books like that again. They can but not as good. Will N.