there has been literally dozens of editions of the LOTR. it doesn't help that his own son couldn't leave it alone.
an edition doesn't have to revise the text in any way, it just means re-presenting it. that could include cover, front material/prelims, paratexts, etc. it could just involve some minor corrections to print and typography, which happen even when the 'text' itself is not edited, due to production errors. if a book is acquired by a different publisher or passed from one list to another, it goes into a different 'edition'.
any edition could have infinite number of prints. the '50th anniversary edition' of the LOTR could be on its 22nd print run. only publishers are privy to its print no. it just means how many times they've ordered another print run from the printers. nothing changes in the text at all.
a pressing is what happens to a vinyl record. books aren't pressed anymore, it's an archaic term that appears only in ye olde publishing company names. journalists similarly refer to things 'going to press' when really they are submitting copy via digital files to be printed digitally. your copy of the LOTR is not coming off a gutenberg press or a linotype belching hot lead.
Last edited by uziq (2020-06-17 04:02:00)