Identification points are listed only where two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 22 Oct 2026.
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First UK edition: George Allen & Unwin, London, 1964. Allen & Unwin hardback 28 May 1964, issued same day as Unwin Books paperback. Unwin 1971 is a later edition.
Check the reverse of the title page, which records the printing history: on a first impression the "First published in [year]" line has no later impressions listed beneath it, while reprints add lines such as "Second Impression" with a year. For Tolkien titles the British Allen & Unwin hardbacks came out before the American editions and are the true first editions.
Read the full guide to George Allen & Unwin first editions, decade by decade, and check your copy's copyright page against it. Our number line decoder reads the printing from the row of numbers.
We have not yet confirmed the issue points that tell this first impression from later ones. Until we do, compare your copy's title page and copyright page with the publisher, place and year above: any later printing or edition statement means it is not this one.
Know the points? Tell us. We publish them, with credit, once a second source agrees.
George Allen & Unwin, London, in 1964.
Points of issue are listed only where at least two independent sources agree. Last reviewed 22 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.
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