# Is "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book" by J.R.R. Tolkien a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book by J.R.R. Tolkien (George Allen & Unwin, 1962) is identified by: First impression, published 22 November 1962. UK Allen & Unwin true first; US Houghton Mifflin edition followed in 1963.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First impression, published 22 November 1962
- Pictorial boards with full-colour wraparound design by Pauline Baynes; dust jacket repeats the cover design
- First-impression text point: the full-page illustration of cats falls in the middle of the poem Fastitocalon; the poems were reordered in the second impression (also 1962) to fix this
- No later-impression notice on verso
- Publisher imprint reads George Allen & Unwin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Publisher | George Allen & Unwin |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First impression, published 22 November 1962 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First impression, published 22 November 1962. Pictorial boards with full-colour wraparound design by Pauline Baynes; dust jacket repeats the cover design. First-impression text point: the full-page illustration of cats falls in the middle of the poem Fastitocalon; the poems were reordered in the second impression (also 1962) to fix this. No later-impression notice on verso.

## Is this the true first?
UK Allen & Unwin true first; US Houghton Mifflin edition followed in 1963.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions carry an impression notice and have the reordered poem sequence.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book* by J.R.R. Tolkien a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-adventures-of-tom-bombadil-and-other-verses-from-the-red
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.