New World Record Set for Sale of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings trilogy at Forum Auctions
A new world record has been set at Forum Auctions when a fully signed, first edition, first impression set of the The Lord of the Rings sold for £287, 700 (hammer price + buyer’s premium), against an estimate of £70,000 - £90,000.
Fully signed sets are rare and only a few copies have appeared at auction in the last 40 years. It is believed that this was among a handful gifted by J. R. R. Tolkien to the Directors and Senior Managers at his publishers Allen and Unwin, presented by him to the Sales and Marketing Manager, Leslie Berry.
Berry, who died in 1967, first joined the firm of Allen and Unwin as a boy in 1934. He was called up to the Lincolnshire Regiment in 1939 and rose to the rank of major. On his return to the firm after the war, his new senior rank led to his transfer to the travelling sales team where he excelled before becoming Allen and Unwin's first sales manager. The copies passed by descent to the present owner.
Books and Works on Paper Specialist, Max Hasler, commented: “Forum are immensely proud to have achieved a world record price for a Tolkien book at auction. This strong result shows the robust strength of the book market currently. The value of Tolkien books and manuscripts has risen considerably over the last decade and reflect the love and affection readers have for his remarkable writing and world creation”.
Other major Tolkien sales include the author's manuscript of calligraphic poems with notes on Elvish (Sotheby's, 2024, £228,000), a first edition of The Hobbit inscribed by Tolkien to one of his former students (Sotheby's, 2015, £137,000), and what Christie's described as the 'Rosetta Stone of Middle Earth' letter in which Tolkien explained the development of runes and languages used in The Hobbit (1943, $107,100).