# Is "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún" by J.R.R. Tolkien a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún by J.R.R. Tolkien (HarperCollins, 2009) is identified by: Edited by Christopher Tolkien. UK HarperCollins true first, published 5 May 2009; the US first is from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt the same year.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Edited by Christopher Tolkien
- UK HarperCollins first edition, first impression, 2009, identified by the full number line including 1 on the copyright page
- The trade issue is quarter-bound in black cloth over black paper boards with the spine lettered in gilt, and is issued in the pictorial dust jacket (jacket art by Bill Sanderson) which should retain its printed price, unclipped
- A separate deluxe issue exists: quarter-bound in brown with grey boards, gold-stamped with a motif of Sigurd's horse Grani, printed on superior paper with a silk ribbon marker and housed in a matching slipcase
- Publisher imprint reads HarperCollins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Year | 2009 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Edited by Christopher Tolkien |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Edited by Christopher Tolkien. UK HarperCollins first edition, first impression, 2009, identified by the full number line including 1 on the copyright page. The trade issue is quarter-bound in black cloth over black paper boards with the spine lettered in gilt, and is issued in the pictorial dust jacket (jacket art by Bill Sanderson) which should retain its printed price, unclipped. A separate deluxe issue exists: quarter-bound in brown with grey boards, gold-stamped with a motif of Sigurd's horse Grani, printed on superior paper with a silk ribbon marker and housed in a matching slipcase.

## Is this the true first?
UK HarperCollins true first, published 5 May 2009; the US first is from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt the same year.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings are distinguished by a number line no longer running down to 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún* by J.R.R. Tolkien a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-legend-of-sigurd-and-gudr-n
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.