First Edition. First Printing. The Father Christmas Letters by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Title: The Father Christmas Letters
Author: by J. R. R. Tolkien. Edited by Baillie Tolkien
Publisher: George Allen & Unwin Ltd: London. 
Published Date: 1976. First ed. First printing. 
Illustrated: Prolifically. 
Pagination: Unpaginated.
External Size: Slim 4to. 28cm x 22.5cm
Condition: Very Good. 
 
This is a very good first UK edition, first printing of The Father Christmas Letters by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was first published in the UK on the 2nd September 1976, three years after Tolkien's death. The stories are told in the form of letters, primarily written by Father Christmas, with letters or parts of letters written by the North Polar Bear and his Elven secretary Ilbereth. The letters document the adventures and misadventures of Father Christmas and his helpers, including the accident-prone North Polar Bear and nephews, Paksu and Valkotukka. Many letters include illustrations drawn by Father Christmas. [J.R.R. Tolkien, Baillie Tolkien (ed.), Letters from Father Christmas, "Introduction"]
 
Bound in the original publisher's pictorial laminated boards with illustrations to both covers; sketches and drawings throughout in colour, in profusion, after Tolkien's original manuscript. The boards are in very good condition with only minor wear to the extremities. There is an ownership sticker to the front free endpaper which has not been written on. The contents are clean throughout with some light age toning to the page edges. There is a small, minor crease to the lower right corner of the final page. Overall an extremely good copy of this wonderful Christmas book.