Smith of Wootton Major

Notes
First State of the First Edition, First Impression.

This is the first appearance of Tolkien's short story - Smith of Wootton Major. It was first published in Great Britain on 9 November 1967 and was swiftly followed in the United States when it was published in Redbook magazine on 23 November.

The sheets of the First Impression appear to have been bound in at least two batches, using slightly different designs for the binding case.

The earlier first state has a solid black background, while the later second state has a white border on the top and bottom edges and on the spine.

The proportion of 1st to 2nd state copies is unknown, but observation of the copies offered for sale on the secondhand market suggests that the 1st state copies outnumber the 2nd state copies by more than 10:1.