London: George Allen and Unwin, 1937. First edition. First impression, in the first issue jacket with the hand-correction for "Dodgeson." Octavo. Original green cloth, spine and front cover lettered in dark blue, binding blocked with design in dark blue, top edge green, map endpapers printed in black and red. Map endpapers printed in red and black, frontispiece, and 9 illustrations by the author. A sharp, Near Fine copy in like dust jacket, extremely uncommon in this unrestored condition. Book with just minor leaning to spine, head of spine very slightly bumped, occasional internal foxing. Slightly toned dust jacket with head and foot of spine worn with tears and minor loss, other short closed tears. Housed in a custom green morocco-backed folding box.

The Hobbit follows the exploits of Bilbo Baggins as he joins a company of Dwarves set on retaking their former kingdom from the dragon Smaug. A brilliant piece of writing, for any genre. Just 1500 copies were originally printed, though the book has now been translated into fifty languages and sold a hundred million copies worldwide. "Though all is marvelous, nothing is arbitrary: all the inhabitants of Wilderland seem to have the same unquestionable right to their existence as those of our own world, though the fortunate child who meets them will have no notion—and his unlearned elders not much more—of the deep sources in our blood and tradition from which they spring." (C. S. Lewis for the Times Literary Supplement, Oct., 1937)

Hammond & Anderson A3a. Grolier Club, One Hundred Books Famous in Children's Literature 81. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. (Item #5074)