The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin
Contributed by Florian Hardwig
on Feb 8th, 2026. Artwork published in
.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s Silmarillion was first published by Allen & Unwin in London (with Hawthorn for the jacket typography). Shown here is the first U.S. edition, by Houghton Mifflin, with cover art by Tolkien himself. The display typeface is Rubens.
Note how the J towers a little over the other capitals because its base was aligned to the line of the frame, instead of letting it overshoot.
The typography on the spine and inside the book follows the British precursor, with Perpetua and Imprint.
