Limited edition of 1,000 copies, 100 of which were signed by Christopher Tolkien. The first 1,000 copies of the first edition off the press were reserved for later publication in a red leather binding. The paper appears to be a slightly different colour and texture to that used for the standard trade edition. It is thought that not all of the 1,000 copies were bound and issued. Two variants of the limitation plate have been seen – one on an integral leaf and the other pasted onto the front endpaper. There are two ISBNs for this edition: ISBN 0048232238 - Unsigned copies, ISBN 0048232246 - Signed copies.