Unexpected Tolkien Treasure Fetches $51,000
Recent sales of rare editions reflect the enduring appeal and high value of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
The staff of the Oxfam store in Harborne, Birmingham, England, thought they had a “fairly ordinary” donation of old books. To their surprise, the donation included a first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Manager Julian Grist told the BBC, “By the time I’d realized what we had, the donor had already left. I would have loved the chance to tell them just how extraordinary their donation was.”
Early editions of The Hobbit can sell for high prices. The Oxfam shop staff contacted a specialist about their copy, a 1938 edition in the second printing. The dust jacket, designed by Tolkien himself, was intact. Ultimately, the book sold at auction, raising £38,400 (about $51,000) for Oxfam.
The Hobbit, which grew out of stories that Tolkien told to his children, was initially published by George Allen & Unwin in September 1937 with a print run of 1,500 copies. They sold out so quickly that a second impression, which included color illustrations by the author, was released in December of the same year. Since then, dozens of editions have been published worldwide, and the book is still considered one of the greatest children’s books of all time.
“We can never get enough Tolkien,” Grist said. “His books fly off our shelves.”
The iconic author’s enduring appeal is further shown in a recent auction at Sotheby’s in London. Their Books, Manuscripts & Music, from Medieval to Modern auction, which ran from June 25 to July 9, included five lots of signed books and letters by Tolkien, which sold for a total of £103,680, or nearly $139,000.
The books and letters were dedicated to a friend of Tolkien’s named Eileen Elgar, who died in 1980. She had initially written to Tolkien in 1960 with questions about his Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the ensuing correspondence developed into a true friendship.
Read more about Tolkien's treasures below.
