I (Urulókë) personally don't mind the lack of uniformity across the author's works, but it does really bother me that (for example) the History of Middle-earth series has no internal consistency at all (and is intentionally missing half a book!)

Hey Stu! I can’t say I disagree. I really am not a fan of the re-casing of trade editions (is there a way to tell which they have done this on?) and I don’t like the green with random filigree/rune styles that don’t go with each other at all. Good to know how their leather is made!

@@TolkienGuide You can generally tell on the website as they won't make the "specially milled acid-free paper" claim, but you also tell the simple re-casings as they will have no mention of EP and will just be a page-block from another publisher. I believe a lot of their "coffee-table" volumes are done this way. I really wish EP would invest in some more modern design as their product is solid. And whilst the leather may be low-end, it certainly appears to be quite long-lasting (you see the odd tatty copy on eBay, but most look good). My suspicion is that they fear moving away from their target market, which (IMHO) is people that have this strange fantasy idea of what "quality" is, without actually knowing what quality is. Hence we get all the gaudy filigree, which is essentially an unsophisticated idea of sophistication. That's just an opinion though - and I might be full of crap ;-) If they got a decent designer to spend a day on each of their books (taking the "less is more" approach), they could have a product I would lap up.

Lol... im definitely one of those "unsophisticated consumers". EP isn't your 18th century publishing company making 20 books a week by hand. They mass produce a durable product that you don't have to be careful handling. I'll take EP over any other company you don't have to spend thousands on, and then can't even touch the book because its an "investment". I have over 100 EP books and love all of them. My only complaint would be that they are making their deluxe editions monstrous and aren't very comfortable to read.

I am also an unsophisticated consumer hahaha. I got into leatherbound books in my late teens and have purchased many over the years. I am 26 now. I can’t afford ancient first editions that cost thousands. EP reprints them in leather, even if it’s low quality, and that satisfies my needs. Of course I’d love to be able to have a library full of fragile original first editions, but EP does it for me at the moment, and, like the other commenter said, I do not feel that guilty about opening up these EP books and reading them for pleasure.

May I also add that I have been able to flip some EP editions for profit, especially their “deluxe limited editions” (;

I own several versions of LOTR including the Easton Press editions. I read the LOTR almost every year and I can say there are nicer editions than Easton Press if you like artwork (like the Alan Lee Harper Collins box set), but I always find myself going back to the Easton Press editions as my preferred reading editions. They feel so good in my hands, and I agree with these gentlemen that the build quality is phenomenal.

@@pinrex47 I'm so glad to hear you say that! I placed my order for the classic 5 book set and I cant wait to get my hands on them!

Your best bet is contacting a used bookseller near you, as shipping those is going to be a significant expense.