An “astonishingly rare” first edition of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit has fetched a record-breaking £43,000 at auction after being discovered during a home clearance in Bristol.
The 1937 copy — one of only 1,500 printed in the novel’s original run — was found without its dustcover tucked away on a bookcase. Despite the missing cover, the book drew intense bidding before being sold online to a private UK collector through Auctioneum in Bath, Somerset.
Caitlin Riley, book specialist at the auction house, called it “the quintessential auction story,” adding:
“Everyone dreams of finding a rare item hidden in plain sight, and here we are.”
The sale price sets a new house record for a Tolkien work, underscoring the enduring global demand for the fantasy classic that introduced readers to Middle-earth nearly nine decades ago.
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