The Hobbit

First published in 1939, Tolkien’s celebrated tale of Bilbo Baggins’ adventures is a not only a charming and time-tested story, it is one of the best-selling books of all time!

We have acquired a copy of the 1942 third printing of the first edition, in lovely condition.

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit or There and Back Again. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1942. 3rd printing of the first edition. pp. 310 [2] (ads). 8vo. Publisher’s green cloth binding with navy decoration depicting stylized Misty Mountains and Smaug, and lettering to spine. Faded topstain. Map endpapers. Colour frontispiece depicting “The Hill”, and other black-and-white illustrations by the author. Slight spine slant, edges rubbed, corners a tad curled, 1 cm split to cloth at rear joint, faint dogear to p61, ink name and address to front free endpaper; overall very good. Lacks dustjacket. $8,500.00 CAD.

Last summer, my family and I were in Australia and New Zealand: a trip centered around Melbourne Rare Book Week and the President’s Meeting of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers. The enlightening, productive ILAB events filled a few days of our three-week trip, which also found us surfing, feeding kangaroos, tubing through cave systems, and dining on a centuries-old tall ship in Sydney Harbor … and the adventure was capped off by a trip to Hobbiton! My partner is a huge Tolkien fan, and while the ILAB events may have been the trip’s focus for me, for him, visiting Hobbiton was a dream come true (a tear may have been shed). My teenagers and I were fully on board; when they were younger I read The Hobbit to them, as my dad did to my sister and I some decades ago. Their dad read them the LOTR as well, and of course we have seen all the movies! The Hobbiton tour was charming and professional, the highlights being Bag-End, going inside a Hobbit hole, and refreshments at the Green Dragon! The relatability, humor, and enchantment of Tolkien’s characters and stories will ensure that they remain evergreen for decades – or centuries – to come.