u/RedWizard78

Landmark new 90th anniversary edition featuring a wealth of charming illustrations from Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins, published in English for the first time.

Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, almost dead and dark, with scarcely a snore more than a whiff of unseen steam, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance!

Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Although quite reluctant to take part in this quest, Bilbo surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and his skill as a burglar!
This landmark new edition of The Hobbitpresents J.R.R. Tolkien's full text with illustrations by Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins, from a rare Swedish-language edition never before published in English. Jansson’s tender, whimsical drawings illuminate Bilbo’s journey – from the comfort of Bag End to the riddled dark under the mountain – adding fresh enchantment and quiet humour to every page.

Product Information
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date 24 Sept. 2026
Language English
Print length 320 pages
ISBN-13 9780008843076
Item weight 270 g
Dimensions 17.6 x 2.1 x 22.6 cm

Some time ago, a listing for a Special Edition of The Fall of Numenor has appeared online. Now, we have all the info possible - until the new edition is actually out and the finer details can be seen. 

"A special edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth collected in one volume, illustrated by Alan Lee.

Guided by the Dark Lord Sauron, the Elves of Eregion forge the Rings of Power. Yet in secret he has begun building the Barad-dûr in Mordor, and here, in the fires of Mount Doom, he makes the One Ring. Seeking to rule Middle-earth, Sauron begins to wage terrible war upon them.

On the island-kingdom of Númenor, the Men of the West become mighty, building great ships to increase their influence throughout Middle-earth. But as their power grows, the seed of their downfall is sown. Only by uniting in alliance with the Elves can they hope to overcome Sauron.

Adhering to ‘The Tale of Years’ timeline in The Lord of the Rings, Brian Sibley assembles a new chronicle of Middle-earth, a tragic tale of pride, envy and downfall told substantially in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien from the various published texts originally edited by Christopher Tolkien, and illustrated with pencil drawings by Alan Lee.

Complementary in style to the series of special edition hardbacks illustrated by the author, this gorgeous edition features sprayed edges and includes a removable art card and foldout map."

ISBN: 9780008848842

Publication Date: Nov 5, 2026

Since this, as we can see, matches the 'author illustrated' editions, I will now be referring to the standard versions of the Author Illustrated hardcovers as "Special Editions". This is due to the fact that The Fall of Numenor is not illustrated by Tolkien. So the format is no longer 'author' illustrated. Also note that there isn't a deluxe edition of this version, like we have for The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.  

It will be neat to see which other editions come to this style - if any. 

On that note, next year is the 20th Anniversary of The Children of Hurin, the first of The Three Great Tales to get its own dedicated book. So it's possible that The Great Tales of Middle-earth may follow suit - either title by title over time, or all three available at the same time, but separately. There isn't enough artwork by Tolkien to do an author illustrated version of Unfinished Tales, though how the non-Special Edition of The Fall of Numenor  is getting 'transferred' to the Special Edition format, the illustrated version of Unfinished Tales could also follow suit. 

I could also see Tales From the Perilous Realm make it to this format, and possibly even Letters From Father Christmas.

Does anyone know how many printings this edition got? It came out fall of 2020, and got replaced by the current edition, which came out fall 2023. Now (not sure when) it’s no longer in print.

I wouldn’t really consider it ‘rare’ but rather ‘short lived.’

Some may wondering what makes these special, beyond the cover designs and that the they have no dustjackets or slipcases. The William Morrow cousins are, overall, much nicer (sewn, stained edges and a ribbon marker).

Since there isn’t a lot of ‘talk’ about them online, I’ll go over them as best as I can.

Before I begin, back in 2013, HarperCollins put out The Hobbit & LotR. They were regular sized Tolkien hardcovers, and the boards were cloth. I’m unsure if the binding was glued or sewn. Due to the cover design and eventual scarcity, they were sought after. However, nothing IN the book was ‘special’ or ‘exclusive.’

Then, they got reissued. Additionally, The Silmarillion and now Unfinished Tales joined the format. Note that these are shorter than the previous editions, and feature a glued binding. (worry, not their price accordingly.)

I’ll now go into each book.

THE HOBBIT

To get the ‘new’ issue, it needs to be the 15th printing or later. In this one instance, the ISBN was reused.

Maps: Thror’s (front boards), and Wilderland (rear boards). Both have red ink, where applicable.

Artwork: it features black and white images; the usual 5 or 8 or whatever it is, plus, done colour images (ie: Smaug) Bjt in black and white. It’s my understanding that the pages themselves are from the ‘Nat Geo’ / ‘Self-Help’ cover, possibly even the Signature edition.

Cover art: “HarperCollins 2022.”

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

I mentioned this with The Hobbit, I believe that the ‘innards’ of the book for The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are based off the Nat Geo / Self Help paperbacks. Possibly even the Signature Editions.

Maps: Middle-earth (both front and rear boards), red ink accordingly.

Publication date on copyright page states ‘2022.’

Cover art: “HarperCollins 2022.”

THE TWO TOWERS

(Exact same where relevant as FotR).

THE RETURN OF THE KING

Only difference between the other two, is that for the maps, the one at the rear is Rohan/Gondor/Mordor

THE SILMARILLION

Publication date ‘2024.’

Maps: Beleriand and the Lands to the North’ front and rear boards. Red ink used.

Cover art: ‘Angus Tarabilda’, 2021.

UNFINISHED TALES

Publication date, ‘2026.’

Maps: Middle-earth front and rear boards, again w/ red ink.

Cover art: no artist mentioned, but Meghan Smith & Shutterstock (to the best of my knowledge this would be designers, not actual artist or illustrators).

That’s pretty much all the relevant information that I can think of to pass on but if you would like to know anything specifically drop a comment and I’ll do my best to answer.

With regards to their interior, there’s really nothing special about these. It seems to be the winners of a paperback but repurposed into hardcover format.. not quite to the extent of Perma bound or library binding, but it seems like that’s the same version of the text that was used.

Prediction:

- 2027 they’ll do all 3 Great Tales like this, with the same pencil artwork seen in the Signature Paperback. (20th Anniversary of CoH)

~ 2028 may see Tales From the Perilous Realm. (20th Anniversary)

~ 2029 (or even 2030) The Fall of Numenor, possibly to accidentally coincide with a season of Rings of Power. This book is still somewhat new so they might need to wait a little bit of time before issuing this title into this particular format. It would also have the pencil artwork that is seen in the paperback version. Speaking of paperback, we haven’t had this title in the signature collection yet so I expect within the next 1 to 2 years with a reprint it will make it into that style.

Got the latest in this style/format!

Is this the last one? Will there be The Great Tales? Tales From the Perilous Realm? The Fall of Numenor?

We’ll see, but for now: this is it, and shown with the others 😀

Does anyone know if the illustrated deluxe editions of Unfinished Tales and The Complete Guide to Middle-earth got reprinted after their initial print runs? (Much like how The Silmarillion did).

* Illustrated by the Author Deluxe Editions: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/28789UMQM581O?ref\_=wl\_share

* illustrated by the author (standard) / Special Editions: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/FA9V547WXWOR?ref\_=wl\_share

* Collector’s Editions (unjacketed) : https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/QMS4CAS5PS5N?ref\_=wl\_share

* Signature Paperbacks: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/8J9AAU6KRBHP?ref\_=wl\_share

* Deluxe Editions (classic style) : https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1DR94U983PJDG?ref\_=wl\_share

* current hardback collection: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/2MBAYKELMBFY9?ref\_=wl\_share

* Illustrated Deluxe Editions: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1VN6COUMF1HQM?ref\_=wl\_share

* ‘odds ‘n’ sodds: https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/23WN7Q47DKJCI?ref\_=wl\_share

Hope that helps!

There’s no ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’ edition, really…..it comes down to ‘what’s right for you???’