A first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” described as “astonishingly rare,” has fetched a “record-breaking” £43,000 at auction.
The copy, one of only 1,500 printed in 1937, was discovered without its dustcover on a bookcase during a recent home clearance in Bristol.
The book was acquired by a private collector in the UK through an online auction held by Auctioneum in Bath, Somerset.
Caitlin Riley, book specialist at the auction house, commented: “It’s the quintessential auction story. Everyone dreams of finding a rare item hidden in plain sight, and here we are.”
The auction estimate for the book was between £10,000 and £12,000, but it attracted significant interest, drawing hundreds of bidders from around the globe.
Ms. Riley noted that the book is in “absolutely beautiful condition” and suggested the final price represents a record for a first edition without its original dustcover.
“House clearances can be tricky, stressful and troublesome… this could have so easily been sent to landfill, or disposed of by someone who didn’t realise it was there,” she added, highlighting the fortuitous discovery.
The book originated from the family library of Hubert Priestley, a renowned botanist in the 1930s and brother of Antarctic explorer and geologist Sir Raymond Edward Priestley.
Priestley maintained close ties with the University of Oxford, where Tolkien held the position of Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and was a Fellow of Pembroke College.
Both men were acquainted with fellow author C.S. Lewis, suggesting a likely connection between Priestley and Tolkien.
“It’s the connection to Tolkien and the important provenance that makes this book so special. It’s not just any first edition; it belonged to someone who very likely called Tolkien an acquaintance,” Ms. Riley explained.
She further emphasized the rarity of finding a first edition in such remarkable condition.
“Being a children’s book, most of them have seen children’s hands, children’s colouring pens in some cases, so to have one that appears to be completely unread and never enjoyed is really, really astonishingly rare,” she concluded.
“The Hobbit” remains one of the most successful children’s novels ever written, with sales exceeding 100 million copies.
Set in the fantasy world of Middle-earth, the story follows the hobbit Bilbo Baggins on his quest for treasure.
This particular first edition also features rare drawings by Tolkien himself.
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