After selling out during its Black Friday sale, Amazon has restocked the popular new hardcover box set featuring illustrated editions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy novels. Published by William Morrow on October 14, The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Illustrated by Alan Lee Box Set is on sale for nearly 50% off at Amazon and Walmart. Tolkien fans can secure this beautiful slipcased set for only $78.33 (was $150). If you’re buying it as a Christmas gift, just know that Amazon currently estimates a delivery window of December 22 to January 5, whereas Walmart will deliver the box set next week.
Though not nearly as fancy as last year’s The Lord of the Rings Deluxe Illustrated Box Set, it’s nice to have matching editions of LOTR and The Hobbit in one set. This is especially true when talking about the iconic editions illustrated by the conceptual designer of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies. The new four-volume collection includes redesigned editions of The Lord of the Rings Centenary Edition–published in 1992 to mark 100 year since Tolkien’s birth–and The Hobbit 60th Anniversary Edition (1997).
This isn’t the only fantastic Tolkien box set deal Amazon is offering right now. As of December 4, The Complete History of Middle-earth is still available for its Cyber Monday discount. You can get the 5,440-page box set for only $80.64 (was $250).
$78.33 (was $150) | Restocked at Amazon
The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Illustrated clocks in at just over 1,600 pages across the four hardcover books. Memorable scenes from each story are accompanied by stunning full-page watercolor portraits. There are 50 illustrations in the Centenary Edition of The Lord of the Rings. Meanwhile, The Hobbit features 27 full-page illustrations as well as smaller watercolor plates at the start of each chapter. All four books have detailed maps of Middle-earth as endpapers.
The dust jackets and matching slipcase feature Lee’s beautiful watercolor illustrations. The vibrant, wrap-around aesthetic is similar to The History of Middle-earth Box Sets published last year, and this year’s Tolkien Myths and Legends and The Great Tales of Middle-earth–which is also illustrated by Lee.
Like numerous editions of Tolkien’s work, this box set was originally published by HarperCollins UK in 2020. For the last five years, US readers had to purchase the 2020 edition from a reseller or import directly from a UK bookshop. William Morrow’s 2025 edition matches the UK version.
The Lord of the Ring, Illustrated by Alan Lee (2002 Editions)
William Morrow still prints standalone hardcover editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Lee’s paintings, but you’d wind up spending about $20 more compared to the box set deal. Plus, you’d miss out on the slipcase and stunning new cover and case artwork.
More Middle-earth books illustrated by Alan Lee
Alan Lee has illustrated several other Tolkien books, including the final three Middle-earth novels known as The Great Tales of Middle-earth. The 2025 hardcover box set is on sale for $75 (was $125), but hardcover editions of all three are on sale for such low prices that you should probably skip the box set and snag all three separately for $38 total. You can also save big on The Fall of Numenor, Unfinished Tales, and Alan Lee’s sketchbooks featuring even more artwork for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit Deluxe Illustrated Editions
As mentioned, William Morrow published a lavish Deluxe Illustrated Box Set of The Lord of the Rings last fall. It’s a wonderful box set, but unfortunately Amazon raised the price shortly after the matching Deluxe Illustrated Edition of The Hobbit released November 18. Amazon had been selling the three-volume set for $108.30 since its Prime Big Deal Days sale. As of December 4, the set is $168.71. If you’re interested in picking it up, we’d recommend keeping an eye on the price, because the current price is already nearly $100 lower than Amazon sold it for last week ($260).
A remastered and expanded version of the Centenary Edition, the Deluxe Illustrated Box Set has new paintings, over 50 of Lee’s pencil sketches, three removable art cards, and two foldout maps. All three books are quarterbound in leather, and the cloth board covers have new watercolor paintings surrounded by foil-stamped frame. Lee’s artwork is even found on the page edges and interior of the custom cloth board slipcase, both of which depict Mount Doom’s eruption. The pages are sewn to the spine, and each volume in this 1,332-page set has a built-in ribbon bookmark.
The Hobbit Deluxe Illustrated Edition carries a $195 MSRP but is currently priced at $153.72. Just like The Lord of the Rings Deluxe, this 384-page edition of The Hobbit has exclusive artwork not found in the original 60th Anniversary Edition or the standard box set. It has new full-color paintings and black-and-white sketches, two foldout maps, and one removable art card. Designed to be a perfect match with last year’s box set, The Hobbit Deluxe has the same premium features and custom slipcase design.
The History of Middle-earth Box Sets
As you can see from the image above, William Morrow’s other 2024-25 Tolkien box sets have a similar aesthetic to the new LOTR and The Hobbit slipcase set. The decorative box art and wrap-around covers on the four History of Middle-earth Box Sets were designed and illustrated by John Howe. The Great Tales of Middle-earth Box Set, which was published in August, has color plates and black-and-white sketches by by Alan Lee. All six box sets are steeply discounted at Amazon.
The Complete History of Middle-earth is a more affordable alternative to the four box sets. The enormous three-volume hardcover set retailed for $250 at launch in 2020. As mentioned, though, Amazon still has its Cyber Monday deal that drops the price to $80.64–but this deal could end at any moment.
If you’d like a hardcover Lord of the Rings box set but don’t want to spend roughly $100, there are two solid options for half that price (or less). The Lord of the Rings Collector’s Edition Box Set is discounted to $51 (was $105) at Amazon. All three volumes have sprayed page edges, ribbon bookmarks, fully illustrated endpapers, and foil-stamped cover art. These aren’t illustrated editions, but they are very reasonably priced and look great.
Another option is the 1988 hardcover box set, which remains in print today due to its popularity. This set has a distinctly classic look and features cover and slipcase artwork by Alan Lee. This $90 slipcase set is on sale for $38.75 at Amazon.
Sign up for GameSpot’s Weekly Deals Newsletter:
![BLACK SOULS II [TENOKE] – MaxBit](https://i2.wp.com/gamepcfull.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Free-download-BLACK-SOULS-II-gamepcfull.jpg?w=100&resize=100,100&ssl=1 "BLACK SOULS II [TENOKE] – MaxBit")
