Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1965. Hardcover. Book Condition: Fine, almost like new. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. Dust jacket art by Robert Quackenbush. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965. First American Edition. A pairing of two short works: a revised version of the essay "On Fairy-Stories" and the allegorical short story "Leaf by Niggle" (originally published in the Dublin Review in 1945), with an introductory note by Tolkien (1892-1973). Original blue cloth binding, with gilt titles. Internally crisp and clean. Dust jacket has some minor nibbling at the edges...did somebody say Leaf by Niggle?

Leaf by Niggle is a story about an artist that's trying his best to paint a masterpiece...he wants to paint an ethereal landscape, but he keeps getting interrupted...and besides, his ability isn't capable of realizing his dream of a grand landscape. His specialty is leaves...capturing the nuance of single leaves. this is a cool story by J. R. R. Tolkien about recognizing your limitations, and living within those parameters.

This has all the humor that is sometimes hiding inside The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit...and it's a First Edition to boot! And don't forget about the dust jacket, eh?