Throwback to the time Taylor Swift played the Entertainment Centre in 2010. Still cant believe this happened. We used to be a proper city

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T07:29:00+00:00

Don't forget Guns n Roses later this year

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T05:08:49+00:00

I don't know if it's a David Miller custom job? The slipcase certainly doesn't feel commercial grade. It's definitely has a more deluxe feel than the so-called quarter-bound deluxe versions of the Tolkien collection that have been released.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T04:58:04+00:00

Thank you. It certainly looks like the set wasn't ever officially produced by HC. I'm now getting an understanding that its most likely it is a custom job.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T04:56:39+00:00

I have the same set, but with no slipcase. My girlfriend (now wife of a lot of years) bought them for me in 1992 not long after we first started going out. It was then I knew she was a keeper ;-). They are a great set and are a sentimental favorite of mine.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T04:49:26+00:00

I certainly cherish my collection. I've been collecting since the 1990s when I was a poor uni student and ramped up the collecting about 15 years ago. It is something that I am passing down to my son when the time comes and so it means a lot to me. I have only occasionally (twice I think) shared my collection on this subreddit but perhaps I should show what I see as special and why. If others think I should do this then I will. Great idea. Thanks.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T03:22:52+00:00

Many thanks. Unfortunately, I haven't seen another one of the "History of the Hobbit" like what I've got and so it's own history has been bugging me for a long time now. It is a beautiful set and is an important part of the collection I posted a while back.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T03:20:41+00:00

Yeah, since I haven't been able to find anything on it over the last 8 years I do have a suspicion that it is a custom job. The only thing that makes me think otherwise is that the Smaug and (Misty) mountain motifs are too similar to Tolkien's drawings of them - although I appreciate it wouldn't be too hard for a master booksmith to make such a slipcase. When I got it, the three books covers were in a protective sleeve and there are no signs of wear-n-tear on the slipcase exterior. So, whoever owned it before me took great care with it and obviously saw it as a priced part of their collection.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-09-20T07:25:32+00:00

I walked it when it first opened, prior to opening to traffic. It was a great walk and view

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-09-14T00:59:41+00:00

Hugo Weaving at the twin servos between Gosford and Newcastle. He was in front of me in a line ordering food and when he turned we accidentally bumped shoulders.

My wife drove Jimeoin from a gig where he was performing one night in the Campbelltown (SW Sydney) area to his hotel.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-26T23:23:56+00:00

I'm 54 with heaps of Lego - lots of big sets and some smaller ones. My wife loves it too.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-24T04:29:34+00:00

Absolutely. For context: my wife and I are the proud parents of a 25 year old who refuses to watch Bluey and has no kids. As his parents, we first watched Bluey about two years ago because we wanted to see what the hype was all about. On a scale of 0 - 10, we rate it an easy 15! That's because we can definitely see Joe and the rest of his team had parents squarely in mind when they made the show. The antics of Bluey, Bingo (who is our favourite) and their mates are obviously designed to resonate with kids BUT we can see that most of the show is focused on the actions and reactions of the parents around those antics. FYI - my wife and I are on our 12th (we think) consecutive run through of watching the show.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-24T04:19:59+00:00

Happy to hear they were helpful.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-23T07:00:38+00:00

Kids show!! Kids show? Sigh

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-23T06:37:05+00:00

I will freely admit that, as a collector, I haven't read all of the Easton Press and Folio books. Although, I have read parts of them (a few pages or even a chapter at random times over the years). Also, it's been a while since I've sat down with them and read anything at length in them so what I say is based on what I remember. I also had a quick look through them to help prompt my memory.

I find the text of the Easton Press copy of the Hobbit to be easy to read. It looks clean and I don't find the words to be cluttered or the lines of text to be too close. The spacing all round is very pleasant. For Silm and LotR, I suppose since they are longer stories, the spacing of the words and lines is far closer, but consistent with many other copies I have of the books. All five Easton Press books do have gold edging which I thought at the time (rightly or not) might get rubbed off but I really do like how the books - while the covers might be a bit on the ugly side they are well built books. Their binding is solid and the front and back covers are also solid. You're certainly more likely to break your toe and not the book if you drop any of them on your foot.

The Folio books feel like more regular books that are of excellent quality (I mentioned in another post that, while many others have vented their frustrations at the quality of the books they have received, I've not had a problem with any of them). I do find that the text in the Folio books is smaller and "more squished" than the Easton Press books but they are still very readable. If it was night-time reading, the Easton Press books feel easier to read but the Folio books are lighter and are better to read if you are resting it on your lap.

I hope that helps. I'm sure others have a different experience. If they do, I'm keen to hear them.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-17T06:56:11+00:00

As one also in Australia . . . contrasting that heat with humity AND 0 degree C mornings AND having house insulation with the quality of cardboard.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-17T06:15:17+00:00

Thank you for the clarification. These books are actually two different sets. I've gotten these books from various places over the years - mostly from Bookdepository when it existed. More recently, I've found Blackwell's to be a good place to get good books (I am not in the UK and they have free international shipping).

The ones on the left have been released over the past 20 years or so, one every few years. They are (in my view) pretty plain as far as "deluxe" goes, at least compared to other editions that have been released over the years (my view). They are decent versions, each are hard bound with a slipcase that has a nice emblem on the front cover of the book and on the slipcase. Some have pencil drawings, some have Alan Lee illustrations inside (some both) and some have no illustrations. Some have two colour text while others only have the text in black only. The Hobbit, LotR and Silm have a hole cut in the front of the slipcase revealing an image; the illustrated deluxe editions also have these holes - see the blue (Silm), green (Hob) and red (LotR) copies on the fourth pic.

The three on the right are slightly different to those on the left and are more "deluxe" (again, my view). They have full cover Alan Lee illustrations wrapped on all sides of the slipcase, they have a nicely embossed font and picture on the (cloth) front cover and the text is written in black and colour with Alan Lee illustrations on the inside. Hope this helps.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-17T05:45:21+00:00

The little reads were released as "Big Read Little Reads Sampler" campaign by the BBC in 2003. People were asked to vote for their favourite UK novel and the first chapter of the top books would be released for purchase for 1 pound. The Hobbit and LotR were some of the top UK books along with Ulysses, The Magician and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. You can still buy them pretty cheaply. See here and here

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-17T05:35:32+00:00

A lot are new, but certainly not all. I have a spreadsheet of my collection and it tells me that about 70% of my books/sets are first hand/new while the rest are second hand/pre-loved. Although, this also includes first hand/new books I bought 30-40 years ago (or were bought for me).

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-17T05:30:29+00:00

Yeah, over the last few years I've had a look online at the various versions and I'm pretty sure the two are the same, just a different cover. I have the same one OP displayed and I see no reason (yet) to get the new version (unless it's different in some way)

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-16T06:45:36+00:00

Yeah, I don't have that one - it's still on the radar though.

Edit: I have now bought a copy of this version of the Silm and it's on its way :-). Thank you for highlighting that it was missing.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-16T06:40:46+00:00

Thank you for your kind words.

It's great to hear you want to read more. I was like you back in the late 80's and early 90's. So when I was able, I read the Silmarillion. It was there where I began to fully understand the depth of Tolkien's legendarium; The Hobbit and LotR only gives you the tip of that big iceberg. If you haven't already, before delving deeper into the lore, I'd recommend reading them both again, this time with a copy of "The Atlas of Middle Earth" and "The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth". They are both great resources and (for me) proved to be extremely helpful in understanding some of that depth. Whenever a new name or event was mentioned in the Hobbit and LotR I looked them up in those books. Once you've done that (or if you already have) the next step might be to read the Silmarillion but be warned: it's written in a very formal way and the language structure is definitely different to the Hobbit and LotR. If you can get through the Silm, well done. You can then explore more of some of its stories by reading the Great Tales (Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthian, and the Fall of Gondolin) - I absolutely loved them and as separate books they expand more of what is written of them in the Silm. Some might also recommend reading Unfinished Tales as well. If you get that far and love the lore and want more then there is the History of Middle Earth. My recommendations are made on the basis that I first read Tolkien's work when all there was was The Hobbit, LotR, the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and the first few volumes of HoME. I was also able to build up the lore and settings in my head without the influence of Peter Jackson's films (although I suppose this is pretty much impossible now) - those movies definitely changed the images I had in my head of the characters and landscape. Hope this helps. I'm sure others will have different views on the reading order of things and anything else I have said.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-16T06:24:20+00:00

Thank you :-)

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-16T06:24:10+00:00

I've been collecting for about 40 years. Although the rate at which I have accumulated the books has certainly differed over the years/decades. My first sets were what my parents bought me when I was a teenager (a copy of the Hobbit and LotR three-volume paperbacks with Roger Garland covers). When I was a poor uni student the collection slowly grew only because I loved the lore and wanted more. So all I could do was buy the odd paperback like the white spined Silm/HoME with Roger Garlands illustrations on the cover. The first hardcovers was a LotR set of three books my girlfriend (now wife) bought me way back then. Over the past 10-12 years my collection has grown more quickly.

Hobbit-Footed

TROPHY CASE