First UK edition, first impression from 1937. A very good copy of this landmark book, still in the publisher’s original green cloth with its dark blue lettering and decoration. Tolkien’s own artwork runs throughout: a frontispiece, a plate and eight illustrations, seven of them full-page, along with the map endpapers in red and black. The text shows some occasional spotting and staining, mostly in the margins and most visible in the first sixty or so pages, and a faint vertical crease runs through the leaves from around page 175 onwards. The binding is firm and sound. There is slight toning to the spine and board edges, some rubbing and small chips at the spine ends and corners, and a small nick to the front board. The page edges are lightly toned, with a biro mark on the lower edge.

About

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a classic fantasy novel following Bilbo Baggins, a home-loving hobbit recruited by the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield. They embark on a quest to reclaim a stolen treasure from the dragon Smaug at the Lonely Mountain, with Bilbo proving his worth as a courageous "burglar"