The 1937 novel is in almost perfect condition and features illustrations by the author, J.R.R. Tolkien.
AuctioneumThe incredibly rare first edition copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel The Hobbit was unexpectedly found on a bookshelf at an estate sale.
A rare first edition copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit featuring illustrations by the author just sold for $57,000 at auction.
It’s one of 1,500 first impressions of the book that were printed in 1937, and it’s in nearly pristine condition. The volume was discovered at an estate sale in England earlier this year, and when the auction was first announced in July, it was expected to bring in around $16,000 — but it more than tripled those estimates.
Discovering A Rare Copy Of ‘The Hobbit’ Hidden On A Bookcase
Caitlin Riley, a rare books and works on paper specialist at the English auction house Auctioneum, was browsing an estate sale in Bristol in the spring of 2025 when a green cover caught her eye. She knew it looked like an early edition of The Hobbit, but she didn’t dare to hope it was as rare as she thought it might be.
“Nobody knew it was there,” Riley said in an Auctioneum statement. “It was just a run-of-the-mill bookcase, containing the usual reading and reference books you’d expect to find.”
AuctioneumThe book was missing its dust jacket, exposing the green cloth cover beneath.
As Riley began flipping through the book, however, she realized that it was indeed a first edition, featuring 10 black-and-white illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien himself. While the book was missing its blue dust jacket and its spine was a bit discolored, it was otherwise in incredible condition.
“Being a children’s book, most of them have seen children’s hands, children’s coloring pens in some cases, so to have one that appears to be completely unread and never enjoyed is really, really astonishingly rare,” Riley explained to the BBC.
Just 1,500 copies of Tolkien’s The Hobbit were printed when the novel was first published in 1937, but it quickly became one of the most successful books of all time, with more than 100 million copies sold worldwide.
So, how did this particular copy end up on a bookshelf in Bristol?
The Mysterious Origins Of The Rare Book
Little is known about where the essentially untouched copy of The Hobbit came from. The estate sale where Riley found the book was overseen by an executor, and she wasn’t able to speak with any family members.
Auctioneum Caitlin Riley poses with the first edition copy of The Hobbit.
However, auction house officials do know that it was once part of the library of Hubert Priestley, a botanist who had ties to the University of Oxford, where Tolkien was a professor. It’s possible that Tolkien and Priestley knew each other back in the 1930s.
“It’s the connection to Tolkien and the important provenance that makes this book so special,” Riley said. “It’s not just any first edition; it belonged to someone who very likely called Tolkien an acquaintance.”
Before the book went up for auction, it was expected to fetch between $13,000 and $16,000. However, it just sold for $57,000, making it the most expensive first edition copy of The Hobbit to ever sell without its blue dust jacket.
After reading about the auction of this first edition copy of The Hobbit, look through the drawings and maps released by the Tolkien estate. Then, learn about the cave wyrms that inspired Tolkien and countless other fantasy writers.
