The Tolkien Years [UNIQUE COPY W/ TWO ORIGINAL FULLY RENDERED DRAWINGS] [SIGNED]

New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2001. Limited first edition. Hardcover. vg to fine. 1/1000. Square quarto. 131pp. [1] + attached poster at the rear. Black cloth slipcase with gilt lettering and illustration on the front cover. Black cloth boards with with gilt lettering and ruling surrounding an embossed color illustration. Gilt lettering on the spine. Red ribbon marker. This is #699 from a limited edition of 1000 copies, hand-numbered and signed by the brothers on the colophon. The front and rear free endpapers are printed in red and textured and each displays an original fully rendered full-page drawing, signed by both of the brothers. The illustration at the front is a September 11th commemorative image depicting a bald eagle, the American flag, a police officer, a firefighter, the paramedic symbol and the twin towers of the World trade Center in New York. The image at the back of the book depicts the character Treebeard from the Lord of the Rings, in an evocative pose.

The book is a monograph of the artwork of the The Brother Hildebrandt (Tim and Greg) illustrating the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, specifically their three calendars produced for Ballentine Books, from the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, 1976-1978. The content of each of the calendars is reproduced in its entirety, accompanied by informative text, as well as reproductions of behind the scenes reference sketches and photographs for each painting. The final pages display the work for what would have been the forth calendar (1979), and some other Tolkien-inspired work that the brothers have produced since. The back of the book contains a large fold-out poster of the brothers' painting "The Siege of Minas Tirith II", still attached and unopened.

Slipcase with some light smudges and scratches. Binding with some minor smudges and scratches, including some minor abrasions to illustration on the front cover. Slipcase in very good, binding in very good+, interior in fine condition overall. * The Brother Hildebrandt.