First state of the first American edition, with the bowing hobbit on the title page.
Publisher and Year: Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1938
Edition: First American edition, first state, with the bowing hobbit on the title page (changed to a seated flautist in the second state). Although the presence of the bowing hobbit is the sole issue point needed to identify the first state, there are several other notable features of these copies, including the absence of a half-title page (added in the second state), Thror's map erroneously noted as located at the front in the list of illustrations (corrected in the second state), and Chapter VII mistakenly titled Chapter VI (fixed in the third state). Compared to the first British edition that was issued five months earlier, the first American edition used a different cover design and was issued in a larger format, printed on heavier paper, and included four color plates by Tolkien. (Hammond & Anderson A3b; Frisby 2009)
Condition and Description: Octavo, 8.25” x 6”, tan cloth stamped in blue and red, 310 pp. Endpaper maps printed in red. Includes thirteen illustrations drawn by Tolkien, of which four are in color (including the frontispiece). Cloth toned and soiled; pencil mark to rear board; edges and tips rubbed with some exposure; spine cloth a little tanned; small puncture to the lower spine; small gouge to the bottom rear joint. Hinges and binding secure, with a couple of instances of slight overopening. Previous owner's name in ink to the front free endpaper, apparently in the hand of a child, which would perhaps explain why it is illogically dated 1937. The same name appears in pencil again on the following leaf and then once more on the following blank page (the verso of the frontispiece) with an ownership statement (“This book belongs to John Crosby”). No other prior owner's markings. Occasional thumb-soiling, minor staining, and light handling wear to the pages. Unfolded corner crease to pp. 91, 97, and 99. Short tear to bottom margin of pp. 175 and 255, not affecting the text. Housed in a custom slipcase stamped in gilt.
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
The Hobbit established the blueprint for modern high fantasy. Upon publication, few would have suspected that the novel would have such a profound impact on literature. Seventeen years later, Tolkien published the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, another watershed moment in the genre.
Inventory ID: 665 - 576 - 485
First state of the first American edition, with the bowing hobbit on the title page.
Publisher and Year: Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1938
Edition: First American edition, first state, with the bowing hobbit on the title page (changed to a seated flautist in the second state). Although the presence of the bowing hobbit is the sole issue point needed to identify the first state, there are several other notable features of these copies, including the absence of a half-title page (added in the second state), Thror's map erroneously noted as located at the front in the list of illustrations (corrected in the second state), and Chapter VII mistakenly titled Chapter VI (fixed in the third state). Compared to the first British edition that was issued five months earlier, the first American edition used a different cover design and was issued in a larger format, printed on heavier paper, and included four color plates by Tolkien. (Hammond & Anderson A3b; Frisby 2009)
Condition and Description: Octavo, 8.25” x 6”, tan cloth stamped in blue and red, 310 pp. Endpaper maps printed in red. Includes thirteen illustrations drawn by Tolkien, of which four are in color (including the frontispiece). Cloth toned and soiled; pencil mark to rear board; edges and tips rubbed with some exposure; spine cloth a little tanned; small puncture to the lower spine; small gouge to the bottom rear joint. Hinges and binding secure, with a couple of instances of slight overopening. Previous owner's name in ink to the front free endpaper, apparently in the hand of a child, which would perhaps explain why it is illogically dated 1937. The same name appears in pencil again on the following leaf and then once more on the following blank page (the verso of the frontispiece) with an ownership statement (“This book belongs to John Crosby”). No other prior owner's markings. Occasional thumb-soiling, minor staining, and light handling wear to the pages. Unfolded corner crease to pp. 91, 97, and 99. Short tear to bottom margin of pp. 175 and 255, not affecting the text. Housed in a custom slipcase stamped in gilt.
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.”
The Hobbit established the blueprint for modern high fantasy. Upon publication, few would have suspected that the novel would have such a profound impact on literature. Seventeen years later, Tolkien published the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, another watershed moment in the genre.
Inventory ID: 665 - 576 - 485
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