The Tolkien Illustrated Editions of Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion have become fan favorites over the past few years. This week, Tolkien fans who opted for the Deluxe Special Editions of Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion can finally complete their collection with The Hobbit Deluxe Tolkien Illustrated: Special Edition. Releasing October 22, this premium new version of The Hobbit carries a retail price of $195, but Amazon is offering a steep launch discount that drops the price by 33%, all the way down to $131.51.
This Special Edition has numerous unique features not found in the (very nice) standard edition published by William Morrow in 2023. You'll get two fold-out, poster-sized maps of Thror's Map and the Wilderland, an 88-page illustrated booklet, an art card reproduction of the painting Tolkien made for The Hobbit's original dust jacket, a redesigned cover with a premium binding, and a clothbound slipcase to protect your expensive book. The ribbed binding around the spine is made of green leather, while the rest is black cloth board with foil-stamped cover art and text. The standard edition has blue stained edges, but the Special Edition switches to gold page edges, adding to the luxurious aesthetic.
The text and illustrations inside the book match the standard edition, though the larger Special Edition only needs 384 pages to tell the full prelude to The Hobbit, whereas the original is 432 pages. The Hobbit Illustrated is unique because it features over drawings, sketches, full-color paintings, and maps by Tolkien himself. It features the complete original text printed in both red and black. Both editions come with ribbon bookmarks, and the standard edition also has smaller fold-out maps of the Wilderland and Thror's Map.
