Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.
Saturday, June 06, 2015
Hobbit first edition with JRR Tolkien's inscription doubles sales record
Sold for £137,000, the book with inscription in Old English that talks of ‘marvels and strange beings’ was a gift to one of Tolkien’s students at Leeds
The first edition of The Hobbit from 1937, inscribed in Old English by JRR Tolkien as a gift to one of his first students at Leeds University. Click here to see the full image. Photograph: Sotheby's
A first edition of The Hobbit given by JRR Tolkien to one of his former students in 1937 has more than doubled the world record for a copy of the author’s first novel, selling at auction for £137,000.
Left - The Hobbit first edition from 1937. Photograph: Sotheby's The previous record, set in 2008, for a copy of The Hobbit was £50,000, and Sotheby’s in London had expected to sell this copy for between £50,000 and £70,000. But the copy given by Tolkien to Katherine Kilbride, taught by the author at Leeds University in the 1920s, exceeded all expectations. More
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