Super Deluxe COH announced

[davem]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hickli

Myself I don't get very hopped up about 'collectible value'- I'm a stocks-and-bonds kinda guy- and possessing a book (or bookplate) with a signature the author cranked out assembly-line fashion doesn't have much personal value for me- certainly not anything like Christopher's signatures at the bottom of his letters.

Afraid if I bought this thing it would be purely for setting aside for a couple of years & then selling on. I fear that (to me at least) it has no inherent value - but then I'm not a collector as such. Which is not to deny that in itself its a very nice thing.

Of course, recieving letters from CT would be a superior thing to simply owning a copy of a book(plate) signed by him, but we are not all in that enviable position. That said, signed copies have their own value to collectors. I don't see this as any different to buying a signed limited edition Alan Lee print - its a collectible which should appreciate in value.

[Sauron the White]

WCH - so the publishers are performing something akin to an act of charity by releasing the Naismith pictures in a different format? They are not doing this for pure monetary gain and to increase corporate profits but to assist the poor JRRT fan who dearly wants to have the Naismith pictures but had to make a choice between a watch chain and a hair brush for a family member and had no money remaining?

I admire your debating skills WCH. You should go into political work where a mind that can work like that is suitable rewarded. And that is said with a smile.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

StW:
They're doing both- they are satisfying a perceived market need. Certain Tolkien fans get the pictures for less, and H/C makes money. Win-win.

No business is in it for charity- but that doesn't mean that they're not offering value for money. Consumer choice is a good thing.

[Sauron the White]

I do understand your point William although I fall more on the cynical side of this question while you seem to fall on the optimistic side. Perhaps all I wanted was for the publishers to follow through on their own precedent set with the COH calendar for 2008 in which they did include some new illustrations which were not in the book. Four new SIL paintings would have put a smile upon my face and make the fifteen dollars a lot easier to part with.

[davem]

StW. I think you're missing the point - they could sell the last two Alan Lee calendars: LotR on the strength of the movies & the Sketchbook, & CoH on the strength of the movies & the book. They won't bring out a Hobbit themed calendar till the Hobbit movie makes an appearance - so that leaves them to come up with an economic (ie cheap) fill in - & there's all those nice Naismith paintings available......

Personally I would have loved them to have commissioned Alan Lee to produce a Smith of Wooton Major calendar, but with Tolkien out of the limelight at the moment (no movie or new book) HC are not going to bother spending unnecessary money.

(Plus, the paintings will be reproduced in a larger size than in the book)

[Sauron the White]

davem .. yes I will appreciate the fact that the Naismith paintings are twice or or more from the book... and that is a good thing.

And I do get the point. Always have. The point here is the precious bottom line. You put it well here

HC are not going to bother spending unnecessary money.

But I still would have liked four new Naismith illustrations.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

davem .. yes I will appreciate the fact that the Naismith paintings are twice or or more from the book... and that is a good thing.
.

Yes, but fans like to collect - I have half a dozen editions of LotR (the HM & HC 50th anniversary deluxe eds, the HC 3 vol 50th anniversary text hardbacks, the Alan Lee illustrated HB, my original 3 vol PB A&U slipcased edition from '76 & a 1966 A&U first edition text 3 volume HB set) & Lal owns more (mostly PB editions which she likes to collect). I don't considemyself to have been 'ripped off' - in fact, I'll probably buy more, if I find any I like. Same with TH & The Sil. We've got the standard & de-luxe CoH, plus the audio book, & I'll probably buy the PB too next year. We've also got both the Naismith illustrated Sil's - the original with 24 plates & the subsequent edition with the extra 20 odd paintings. And we'll also get the calendar, purely because we like Tolkien stuff. It would have been nice to have some new paintings, but I'm not getting het up about it.

(btw, we own 3 complete sets of HoM-e - 2 paperback sets, one upstairs, one down, & my slipcased 3 volume HB set).