Tolkien, J.R.R. (1965) ‘The Hobbit’, UK fifteenth impression of the first edition

J.R.R. Tolkien (1965) ‘The Hobbit‘, UK second edition (11th printing), or 15th printing overall.

Condition: a really beautiful copy and rare to find in such stunning condition. No previous owners’ scribbles of any sorts. the book is clean throughout. No lean. A copy almost like new. The very tip of the spine, about one mm, has slight fading as the dust jacket is slightly shorter than the book. Likewise the dust jacket is a beauty. It is the correct 15th impression dust jacket matching the book. There are no tears, no chips whatsoever. Price at 15s net. The spine has very light and almost imperceptible didiscolouration of the original white areas (see the mountain) which are no light yellowish. However, it will be very difficult to find a better condition copy than this specimen. Overall, a truely near fine copy which other dealers would label as fine as the book feels like a copy straight from the shop.

Tolkien and ‘The Hobbit’ need no introduction. The grandady of modern fantasy which was followed up by the seminal ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. It is telling that even early reprints of ‘The Hobbit’ fetch thousands, and a true first edition tens of thousands.