Howdy Folks,

ITEM FOR AUCTION: The Collector's Trove has an original, 100% complete, 1974 1st printing of the Dungeons & Dragons woodgrain box set for auction! That's right, the one that started it all! Only 1,000 were ever made! Put together by Gary Gygax way back in the mid-1970's. As I know how discerning collector's are, I will offer this detailed description. Don't be mistaken! This is a remarkable set for being 30 years old and will be a crowning addition to a collection!

CONDITION: The upper box is in GOOD(+) condition - the nicest box I have ever seen. Slight dishing to top box. The upper face of the box has a 1" crease on the upper right corner, another 1" crease on the left (that also runs down the left side 1"), and very minor ones on the lower left and right. All corners solid, no splitting at all. Wear to edges extremely minimal! About 60% of the edges have no wear at all and are like new. Only very minimal wear on three corner points. Upper right corner point has slight fraying. A few other very minor, very faint scratches/rub marks to the sides of the box. Bump to bottom side of box has caused a slight crease/raised bump along a 1" section of the edge.

Front label on solid and flat, 100% complete, no tears, and is remarkably clean and bright. Front label has one very faint water spot 1/8" x 1/2" and 1/8" extremely faint, smooth and flat spot of glue (a faint buff color that nearly blends with the label). Side label on solid and flat, nice and clean. Woodgrain material underneath has 1" crease from manufacture. Noticeable as slight wear line through lower third of label. Inside of box spotless.

Bottom lid GOOD(+) condition. Barely any wear and almost no fraying. Edges/corners nearly perfect. Other minor scratches rub marks. Two corner areas have faint creases from dishing. Inside of box spotless.

Book 1 (cover stock new leather exterior/white interior) in FINE shape. Wow! Gorgeous book. Spine is completely unworn, like brand new, over 95% of its length. Otherwise, barely any signs of wear. No scuffing or splitting whatsoever, just slight bumps to very top and very bottom of spine. Cover is spotless, bright, and new looking. Interior of cover has few miniscule specks but the entire rest of the booklet is absolutely spotless, bright, and clean, with no writing at all. Pages all tightly bound, no signs of wear. Corners of pages and cover still sharp! No staple rust at all.

Book 2 (cover stock new leather exterior/white interior) in FINE(+) shape. Wow! Gorgeous book. Spine is completely unworn, like brand new. No scuffing or splitting whatsoever. Cover spotless, bright, and new looking. Interior of cover has few miniscule specks but the entire rest of the booklet is absolutely spotless, bright, and clean, with no writing at all. Pages all tightly bound, no signs of wear. Corners of pages and cover razor sharp - like absolutely new! No staple rust.

Book 3 (cover stock new leather exterior/white interior) in FINE shape. Wow! Gorgeous book. Spine is is only very lightly worn. Front cover is spotless and back cover has only a few miniscule specks (I mean they are tiny!). Inside of cover has 2 tiny specks and a light eraser/rubbing or peel mark along the top left corner (over a ca. 1/4" x 1"). The interior has no writing at all. Pages all tightly bound, little signs of wear. Corners of pages and cover still pretty sharp! Medium staple rust on outside of staples.

Reference sheets 100% complete, in FINE condition. Virtually untouched and crisp! Only yellowing along edges and slight bumps to the edges. One sheet has very minor black ink marks on the very edge of the paper.

I just can't imagine how there could be a nicer set out there. The booklets are in such fantastic condition! I'd rate the set at 9 out of 10.

DESCRIPTION: This set is the "Holy Grail" of the woodgrain sets - the landmark 1st printing that launched the RPG phenomenon. Before this set there was no RPG industry.

The veracity of this rare item may be found at the The Acaeum, a world respected authority on D&D and AD&D collectables. Don't miss out this time. I am an experienced collector (10 years) myself and am 100% confident in the above description. This set is a must have for D&D collectors and enthusiasts alike!

NOTES ON CONDITION: All items are 100% complete and intact/unpunched unless noted. Items are generally graded as M (MINT), F (FINE), G (GOOD), and P (POOR). The specific grades are defined as follows:

MINT :Perfect - collector's dream

FINE(+):Perfect except for miniscule crease or blemish

FINE :Beautiful shape, small creases, very faint wear

FINE(-):Really nice shape, small creases, light wear, light rounding, very light fraying

GOOD(+):Nice shape, medium creases, light wear, light rounding, light fraying

GOOD :Average shape, medium creases, medium wear, medium rounding, medium fraying

GOOD(-):Average shape, large creases, medium wear, medium rounding, medium fraying

POOR(+):Below average, large creases, medium wear, heavy rounding, medium fraying

POOR :Below average, large creases, heavy wear, heavy rounding, medium fraying

POOR(-):Below average, large creases, heavy wear, heavy rounding, heavy fraying

Small creases are less than 1/4", medium are less than 1", and large are greater than 1". Wear refers to rubbing of cover. Scoring refers to an impression left by a hard point, scratches and cuts actually break the surface, and scuffs peel the surface material off or push it aside. Shrinkwrap and it's condition are indicated separately and do not affect grade. Hardcover books are graded using the above table but "creases" typically don't apply.

The above grading applies only to normal wear. Any damage or exceptional wear (cuts, scuffs, stains, writing, highlighting, stickers, laminating, severe creases, etc.) or printing errors or missing parts are detailed seperately.

If you have any questions about this, or any other items I may have for auction, just click on "ask seller a question" above.

SHIPPING & HANDLING: Buyer pays actual shipping plus $1.50 handling charge per order (not per item), i.e., if you win one item it is $1.50 if you win ten items it is $1.50. This covers the cost of packing materials and fuel costs. I will, of course, combine auctions for shipping.

Packages will be shipped using either Priority Mail (starting at $3.85) or Airmail Letter Post. I will consider alternate shipping methods only for extremely heavy lots, i.e., 10 pounds or more.

FREE SHIPPING & HANDLING: Free shipping, handling, and insurance will be offered to certain customers that purchase $1,000 or more. Please inquire as to how you can qualify or I will inform you when invoices are sent.

PAYMENT: Currency accepted is dollars U.S. in the form of check or money order. Buyers outside of the U.S. MUST pay with U.S. currency or an International Money Order in US dollars, that draws on funds from a U.S. bank (ask the bank; Barclays, CitiBank, and Western Union recommended). PayPal payments, including credit cards, are accepted.

INVOICES: I will email winners with confirmation and payment instructions within 4-5 days of auction's end. Since this auction will be quite large I will not start invoicing until all items have ended. If you are finished bidding and must have your invoice immediately, simply request an invoice.

Good Luck!

ADDITIONAL CONDITION INFORMATION: Two very minor flaws were accidentally omitted from the description of the front label: namely an extremely faint, flat, 1/16" spot of glue, nearly perfectly blending with the label, and a very faint water spot 1/8" wide by 5/8" long. They are too faint to even be seen in the picture and none too obvious when looked at in person. Indeed, the glue spot is practically invisible.