Thursday, 9 January 2014

Fantasy Books in Parents' Attics Update

Another find from the loft of my dad's house: a copy of The Silmarillion that I picked up at a library stock sale for what must have been less than a quid or so. I can only have been about 14 years old. It's never been read (I have a paperback copy) and is a beautifully constructed book; it is a First Edition, fourth impression, from 1977. Gaze on it in awe.

1977. When fantasy books didn't have pictures of people striking cool poses on the cover. 

1977. When fantasy books had beautiful maps actually within the text where you needed to look at them.

1977. When fantasy books had sub-headings. 

1977. When fantasy books had beautiful fold-out maps in the back.


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5 comments:

  1. Rob Barrett9 January 2014 at 07:42

    I'll be needing your address as well as your house keys. Just sayin'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michael Raston9 January 2014 at 14:12

    I saw that exact printing in an antiques store for $500 last week! Admittedly I live in the wastelands of Western Australia, regardless it's a fantastic thing to find.

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  3. Billy9 January 2014 at 17:26

    You have better luck than me. All I found in my parent's storage unit was a pile of Drizzt Do'Urden books and a bunch of old Garfields...

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  4. Marshall Smith9 January 2014 at 21:41

    Of course, even in 1977 The Silmarillion was pretty unusual for having the subheadings. I do miss the lovely fold-out maps, though.

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  5. anarchist12 January 2014 at 12:44

    I would say that having a symbol- especially if similar symbols are used for other books in the series- is very modern. That seems to be one of the two common formats for fantasy book covers (the other being photos of models).

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