The Hobbit Facsimile: 80th anniversary edition

This sumptuous gift set includes a replica of the very rare first edition of The Hobbit | the only edition where one can now read the original version of the story before Tolkien re-edited it nearly 30 years later. . The Hobbit was published on 21 September 1937 with a print run of 1 | 500 copies. With a beautiful cover design and nearly a dozen black and white drawings by the author himself | the book proved to be popular and was reprinted shortly afterwards and history was already being made. . The scarcity of the first edition has resulted in copies commanding huge prices | way beyond the reach of most Tolkien fans. In addition | subsequent changes to the text - particularly those to chapter five when Tolkien decided to expand the text to marry it up to events in The Lord of the Rings - mean that the opportunity to read the book in its original form and format has become quite difficult. . This special printing reprints the first edition | so that Tolkien’s story may be enjoyed in its original form.