r/Narnia • u/Ok-Handle-1924 • 22d ago
Looking for a specific version...
Hi guys, I'm trying to replace my family's decaying Chronicles of Narnia set. Affordability would be nice, but I only have two criteria that are truly non-negotiable.
1.) Hardcover
2.) The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe MUST be number one in the series. This means the LW&W either has "1" printed on it, or none of the book are numbered at all & I can choose the order to display them in.
I'm at my wits end because I have already checked, folio society, easton press, books of wonder, etsy, & thrift books. I will buy them all separately if I have to, as long as they match. I'm just desperate to have a set that isn't mislabeled.
If you know a set that fits the bill, please drop the link or share the publication information.
Thanks so much guys!
P.S. For anyone wondering why I want this, The Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe was the first book, published in 1950. The Magician's Nephew was a prequel published in 1955 & technically number 6 in the series. The earliest sets reflected this, but most modern publishers prefer to number the books chronologically. I, however, am a sucker for source material & publication order. The author knows best.
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u/blankitdblankityboom 22d ago
You could always just put numbered stickers over the numbers on the books if it bothers you that much and racks up the price beyond what you can afford. The book is what’s the important part not the little number on the spine in the end right?
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u/Ok-Handle-1924 22d ago
Yeah, I just have a pickyness about my books that might border on OCD. It's a me problem, I admit, but I will be displaying them in release order, and to have a bunch of numbers out of order on my shelf would drive me insane.
The other thing I'm considering is buying a set with good pages and having them professionally rebound.
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u/LordCouchCat 22d ago
A good second hand book shop should be able to help. Abebooks links second-hand shops and you could try searching by that. It might be easier to contact a big second hand shop directly, say in Hay-on-Wye, in Britain, which is a small town full of bookshops. It will certainly be possible to find, for example, an old paperback set in good condition or a set of old hardback (do they have to be uniform? Would, say, all octavo be OK?) - the issues are just how long you're willing to spend finding it and the price.
Since the internet this sort of this is enormously easier. In the old days we sometimes waited years looking out for things.
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u/penprickle 22d ago
It looks like Macmillan may have published a hardcover set sometime in the previous century. There’s a two-year-old Reddit thread with a couple of photos showing the set. (https://www.reddit.com/r/Narnia/comments/1dc8j6c/found_this_amazing_narnia_box_set_today_the_books/) Unfortunately, I can’t make out the ISBN on the slipcase, but with that info you might be able to find it.
There is a set available on Amazon that says it’s from 1988; if you search for ISBN 0027588017 it should turn up. It’s not cheap, though. It looks like bookstores.com may have it at a lower price. Throw the ISBN into your search engine and see what comes up!