Short answers, pulled from the story.
TSR hired outside writer John Eric Holmes to produce the Basic Set as an introductory version of the D&D game. The original boxed set featured artwork by David C. Sutherland III and included polyhedral dice plus supplemental materials like geomorphs and monster lists.
A period in 1979 saw a dice shortage that forced TSR to include two sheets of numbered cutout cardstock chits instead of actual dice. These chits functioned in lieu of dice along with a coupon for ordering dice from TSR directly.
After the release of the AD&D game the Basic Set saw a major revision in 1981 edited by Tom Moldvay. The revised version included a larger sixty-four page rule book with a red border and color cover by Erol Otus.
After the September 1979 disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III sales rose dramatically from 5,000 copies per month to over 30,000 copies per month by year end. This surge occurred following the death of James Dallas Egbert III which drew significant public attention to the game.
TSR released a new version labeled The New Easy-to-Master Dungeons & Dragons Game in 1991 nicknamed the black box. The set also included a Dungeon Master's Screen doubling as a folder for cards plus fold-up cardboard pawns and a color map sheet.