I spent £600 on one book. Was it worth it? - My experience with The Folio Societies Limited Edition of The Hobbit

The day has arrived. My precious is here. The magpie within me has won its battle for shiny books and my copy of The Hobbit from The Folio Society has arrived. When I started collecting books back in 2012 the thought of spending more than £50 on a book seemed alien to me, but I’ve bought and sold bits and pieces of my collection over the years to the point where yes, I have decided to spend £600 on a single fine press book, and today I’m going to talk about it.

So the book itself is the very definition of fine press. I’ll list the specs below for anyone interested.

1. Limited to 1,000 copies​
2. Quarter-bound in Spaccato Di Montone leather with art silk sides. Front board has an inset label printed with an illustration by Alan Lee
3. Limitation label is printed letterpress and signed by the illustrator​
4. Typeset in Dante with display set in Testament​
5. 344 pages print in 2 colours​
6. Numerous black & white line integrated illustrations​
7. 28 colour illustrations, hand tipped as plates within borders​
8. Silver page tops​
9. Ribbon marker​
10. Blocked slipcase with printed lining​
11. Separate maps including Thror's map and a map of Wilderland​
12. Separate print presented in a folder​
13. Trimmed size 297mm x 194mm

The slipcase itself is about as good as you can expect from a slipcase, it’s covered in blue cloth to match the boards and blocked in silver on the outside.

The inside of the slipcase is illustrated which is a nice touch that adds a bit of something to an item that is famously difficult to do well.

Like I say, as slipcases go it’s about as good as you can get. It serves its purpose well and most importantly it isn’t too tightly fitting so you’ve no risk of damaging the book when removing it to handle.

Inside the slipcase you get a couple of bonus items alongside the book. The first of these is the separate maps. The book is bound in silk and decorated in silver text to let you know the contents. Inside you’ll find copies of Thror’s Map and a map of Wilderland printed on some of the nicest paper I’ve ever felt.

The second of our Brucey bonus items is a Giclée print (fine art quality) of one of Alan Lee’s illustrations presented in a nice little pearl paper wallet.

The book itself is a masterpiece. It oozes luxury to the point that I opened the box and I’m pretty sure the book laughed and called me poor. The quarter bound leather combined with the dark blue silk and inset art gives the book an incredibly premium feel, it’s a delight to handle. Even if it’s a little bit terrifying at the same time.

The binding sewn binding is something you see as standard in luxury editions, especially at this price point but what I do like is that it hasn’t been bound too tightly as Folio Society has a tendency to do. The book is easy to handle without feeling at risk of damaging the binding. The paper is arguably my favourite thing about this book. It’s thick, it’s a wonderful colour, complimented further by the two colour printing and as ridiculous as this is to say it makes a fantastic sound when you turn the pages. It’s listed on the limitation as ‘munken pure paper’. I don’t know what that means either but if you’ve ever seen those videos on the internet where people sharpen knives and then cut paper with them, this paper would cut the knife.

The artwork in the book is a mixture of colour pieces that have been printed separately on veltique paper and tipped in (I think this is for print quality) and black and white integrated illustrations. I was apprehensive about tipped in art on something I was paying so much for but having seen them in front of me I can say confidently that it does give the book an incredibly premium feel. The art is by rockstar Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee who I’m assuming most people reading this will know. I’ll drop a few examples in below.

So is it worth it?

That question is impossible to answer definitively. To most people, absolutely not. £600 (£690 if you’re outside of the UK) is a lot of money for anything. For context I could sell my house and car and still only be able to afford roughly 50% of the stock Folio had printed. But to me, it’s worth every single penny. This is more than just a book. It transcends literature. This is a piece of art and it’s an edition befitting of the story Tolkien has written. I appreciate that not everybody will be able to, but keep an eye on the Folio Society sales around Christmas. They put their limited editions on 50% sale and it’s worth picking something up just to experience a book of this quality.

p.s. if you don’t hear from me again, my partner has discovered how much the book cost.