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The Lord of the Rings is the most memorable and expertly-written of the many Fantasy novels published.  The third book, "The Return of the King," is being offered for sale in this description.

According to The Tolkien Library, there were only 7,000 copies of the third part of The Lord of the Rings.  Despite this low number of initial publishing copies, today "There are literally thousands of booksellers selling millions of used and new Tolkien and Tolkien related books on the net right now." (Tolkien Library)  These books, as with all of Tolkien's works, have become extremely desirous to collectors.  In fact the prices for The Lord of the Rings or any of its three books, has skyrocketed.  Some of the prices booksellers are selling for the series or parts of it include, up to:

                                                             The Lord of the Rings                     The Return of the King

Advanced Book Exchange (AbeBooks)                   $45,000                                     $11,350  
Tolkien Library                                                  $28,000 
Peter Harrington                                                 12,500 pounds                             3,000 pounds 
Ebay                                                               $18,369.95                                  $2,135    

The following quote from the Tolkien Library indicate the high cost and desirability of the books:  
"If you plan to collect the best known First Editions of The Hobbit (Allen & Unwin - 1937), The Fellowship of The Ring (Allen & Unwin, 1954), The Two Towers (Allen & Unwin, 1954), The Return of The King (Allen & Unwin, 1955) in fine or near-fine condition, you are going to need really a lot of money. For The Lord of the Rings, around €10,000-€17,000, and for a nice copy of The Hobbit, somewhere in the €20,000. Signed copies are extremely hard to find and the prices can go from € 2.000 up to € 150.000 depending on the provenance, association and especially the state of the book(s)."

Condition:

The book jacket is from the original edition and is the only major defect in the book -- there is a piece missing from the spine and it is frayed in places with colors faded.  The outside cover is also frayed at the front corners at the top and bottom.

However, it is an authentic first edition with the 1955 copyright on the title and copyright pages; the signature mark "4" appears on page 49, as well as lines sagging on the same page; the map of Middle Earth is undamaged and one of the rare copies of the first edition being offered for sale at this time.

Synopsis
For over fifty years, J.R.R. Tolkien's peerless fantasy has accumulated worldwide acclaim as the greatest adventure tale ever written. No other writer has created a world as distinct as Middle-earth, complete with its own geography, history, languages, and legends. And no one has created characters as endearing as Tolkien's large-hearted, hairy-footed hobbits. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings continues to seize the imaginations of readers of all ages, and this new three-volume paperback edition is designed to appeal to the youngest of them. In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elvensmiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, still it remained lost to him . . ., THE GREATEST FANTASY EPIC OF OUR TIME While the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarmed out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggled deep into Mordor, seat of Sauron's power. To defeat the Dark Lord, the accursed Ring of Power had to be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way was impossibly hard, and Frodo was weakening. Weighed down by the compulsion of the Ring he began finally to despair. The awesome conclusion of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, beloved by millions of readers around the world., The prequel to The Lord of the Rings- The Hobbit-is now a major motion picture directed by Peter Jackson THE GREATEST FANTASY EPIC OF OUR TIME While the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarms out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggle deep into Mordor, seat of Sauron's power. To defeat the Dark Lord, the One Ring, ruler of all the accursed Rings of Power, must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom. But the way is impossibly hard, and Frodo is weakening. Weighed down by the compulsion of the Ring, he begins finally to despair. The awesome conclusion of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, beloved by millions of readers around the world., What is considered to be the most important fantasy epic of the 20th century roars to a close in this third and final volume of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. The armies of the West mass for their final assault upon the forces of Sauron, but they have little hope of prevailing against the Dark Lord. All depends on whether the Ring-bearer Frodo will complete his quest, and destroy Sauron's Ring of Power in the fires of Mount Doom. But Frodo is imprisoned in the dungeons of Mordor. Are the quest--and Middle-earth--doomed? There are very few fantasy writers who can claim to be as detailed a world-builder as Tolkien was, and that comes to the fore in this book, as it contains over one hundred pages of appendices concerning the history, cultures, and languages of the peoples of Middle-earth, including the ultimate destinies of most of the main characters in the story.