The Lord of the Rings, The Wealth of Nations, and The Book of Mormon First Editions to Auction

Heritage Auctions’ October 10-11 Rare Books auction will feature first edition works by J. R. R. Tolkien, Adam Smith, and Stephen King.

A pristine three-volume first edition of The Lord of the Rings trilogy in first state dust jackets leads the sale. “Because of the films, and now the Amazon series The Rings of Power, people have gone back to appreciate what an amazing work those books are," said Francis Wahlgren, Heritage Auctions’ International Director of Rare Books & Manuscripts, "and, as a result, the market for Tolkien has never been hotter.”

Other highlights include:  

* Adam Smith’s 1776 An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, the first edition published in Dublin plus the second edition from Dublin (one of two volumes), and the two-volume first edition printed for Scottish printer and publisher William Strahan and London bookseller Thomas Cadell in 1776

* a first edition of Joseph Smith Jr.’s The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, Upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi, published in 1830, an unrestored copy in excellent condition

* 50 books by Stephen King, including an inscribed first edition of The Stand dated March 28, 1980 containing original artwork and the signatures of both the author and the artists, featuring the 2010 version of Full Dark, No Stars and 2007’s The Colorado Kid