Short answers, pulled from the story.
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson published the first Dungeons & Dragons boxed set in 1974 through their company Tactical Studies Rules. The project began with a production budget of only $2000 to produce one thousand copies.
The original boxed set introduced three character classes known as fighting-man, magic-user, and cleric. Players could choose from four races including human, dwarf, elf, and halfling.
Only $100 was budgeted for artwork in the entire first printing. Greg Bell based several illustrations on comic book art from Strange Tales No. 167.
Official supplements arrived quickly including Greyhawk and Blackmoor in 1975. More additions followed in 1976 such as Eldritch Wizardry and Gods Demi-Gods & Heroes.
Legal difficulties forced changes to creature names like hobbits becoming halflings. Ents were renamed treants after J.R.R. Tolkien raised objections.
An eBay auction sold a first printing of the boxed set for over $20,000 on the 9th of December 2016. Multiple Origins Awards recognized the game between 1974 and 1977 including Best New Game and Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame.