The Hobbit, First Edition, 3rd Printing, 1942 with Original Jacket
Language: English
Published by Allen and Unwin, London, 1942
- First Edition
- Hardcover
- Used
Seller: Festival Art and Books, Machynlleth, Gwynedd, United KingdomFestival Art and Books
AbeBooks seller since May 20, 2015
Condition: Used - Very good
US$ 69,570.71
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Allen and Unwin 1946, first edition, 3rd printing of the 1st Edition with the original unrestored dust jacket. Arguably more scarce with an original jacket than a 1st/1st. Some number were destroyed in a warehouse fire in London during the war. Some of the sheets were used to produce the Book Club edtion, see my other listing. Thin war-time paper book and jacket meant greater damage by attrition even by normal use and handling. The dust jacket paper is very brittle and dried out, especially on the spine. This happens with many of the early Hobbits as they were frankly cheaply printed. Extensive acid free tape has been applied to the reverse of the spine jacket to stopped further tearing and paper chips falling off and being lost. This we conservation repair, not restoration, as it is all still the original jacket. This is not as visible from the image side and actually looks pretty good overall. Book has no flaws or damage. This copy could be restored. Collecting Tolkien first editions is like classic car collecting, restored automobiles have a lot of value among collectors, but the unrestored originals are worth exponentially more, millions verses thousands. However in Tolkien books, as original dust jackets with minimum damage still come up, there is not yet such a price differential. Invest in original, unrepaired, unrestored while you still can. It will pay off hugely much later. The general rule: if there is no damage or wear and looks too good to be true, its been restored. I'm surprised to see major auction houses selling restored dust jackets without a mention. The Hobbit First editions compared with second edition: Firstly, in that first edition Bilbo at the Unexpected Party had sandwiches with tomatoes in them - tomatoes are of course from the New World, so Tolkien changed that in the second edition to pickles. Indeed, Tolkien spends quite some time in Letters explaining how potatoes might have existed, as well as tobacco - both New World varieties. In this case, Tolkien cleverly used 'taters' and 'pipeweed', thus obscuring the origin of the plants in question. The second and largest and most significant change was to the chapter 'Riddles in the Dark', where the last section of the chapter is completely different. Gollum, having lost the riddle game to the Hobbit, apologises profusely and offers to lead Bilbo out as compensation for the gift he would have given him (presumably the magic ring). He takes him so far along the tunnels, and then gets suspicious, and Bilbo then has to get past him - overhearing Gollum's talk to himself that reveals that the ring is capable of making him invisible. The Hobbit originally in 1937 had no link to Middle earth and the magic ring was just an equaliser device to give Bilbo some edge and extra powers to become 'heroic' when he was not brave or very resourceful. Since changing the text would have required all the metal plates for printing being recast anew, this was no small change.…
Seller Inventory # 002618
Bibliographic details
- Title
- The Hobbit, First Edition, 3rd Printing, 1942 with Original Jacket
- Author
- J.R.R. Tolkien
- Publisher
- Allen and Unwin, London
- Publication year
- 1942
- Condition
- Very Good
- Dust jacket
- Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Printing
- 3rd Printing
- Seller catalogs
- J.R.R. Tolkien
Festival Art and Books
Machynlleth, Gwynedd, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since May 20, 2015
Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
| Item | 10 to 20 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | US$ 40.53 | US$ 67.55 |
Payment methods
- Bank Draft
- Bank Wire Transfer
- Cash
- Cash on Delivery
- Direct Debit
Store description
An 24 year old on-line book selling business mostly J.R.R. Tolkien first and early editions. We do not have a shop, but can meet you locally or come to you by appointment. Note this is our office address. Some stock may be out on exhibition, out of the country and may delay our delivery time. We are located in the Southern part of Snowdonia National Park in North Wales, UK. We deliver high value orders by hand (£100.000 +) anywhere in the world at just our travel costs.
Specialty
J.R.R. Tolkien first and early editionsSeller's business information
Festival Art and Books
United Kingdom
Terms of sale
Description and Condition
We do not provide highly detailed descriptions as photographs now make it easier to see defects more accurately. All our photos are of the actual books and any serious defects not shown in a photo are mentioned in the description. Please ask for additional photos if needed. We only sell very good or better, investment grade condition books. We will only note unusual or serious flaws we think has a serious effect the value. We do not consider owner names, inscriptions or jacket price clipping to be serious defects. Please ask in advance of purchase if you have special concerns about the condition.
Payment
Unless otherwise agreed in advance, full payment is due at time of the order through Abebook payments, but you can pay us direct. Payment mathod must be confirmed by the customer within 48 hours or the order will be cancelled. Payment can be made in Pounds or Dollars by bank transfers or credit card by a secure link. Crediat cards incur a 4% fee. Bank transfers within the UK are free, but if paying from overseas make sure to pay the wire fees as the sender. If you require international bank transfer details, please email us. Delayed payment of fees and payment will delay shipping of your order or cancellation.
Returns
Returns are allowed within 14 days of receipt, subject to advance approval. Returns must be sent signed-for and tracked. If we consider the return our fault, we will pay the return cost. The item must be in the exact same condition as originally sent or the return may be declined or a re-stocking fee applied. The purchase price will be refunded within one week of receipt of the item. If you have any questions or concerns about an item or our terms, please ask BEFORE making the purchase.
Shipping
We typically ship on Tuesday and Thursday. If you require the item quicker, please ask about our expedite services at an extra charge. Shipping is first class UK, delivery in 1-3 days and economy world-wide which can take as long as 20 working days, though averages around 10. If you prefer a faster service please ask or select the prefer shipping time when you pay for the item. Please ensure your ship to address is correct and displayed as per local address format.
Insurance
Items are shipped uninsured unless arranged otherwise. We do not accept any responsibility for items damaged or lost in shipping unless insurance has been pre-arranged which has a limit of £60,000 value per item. Note, it is not readily known but insurance claims payouts limits are based on comparison of value to other known copies, not for the amount insured. Please ask if you have any concerns about insurrance.
Customs and Sales tax
Regardless of the value, bound books are not subject to customs/tariff in most Western countires. This is based on commodity code, not values. Sales tax varies. We will ship duty paid from UK with the correct codes, however we take no responsibity for any duty or sales tax charges added by the shipper or border agent. If you refuse to pay and the item is return, you will not receive a refund if the item is lost in shipping. If you purchase insurance with courrier but arrnagment with us, they will reflect the full insurance amount as the paperwork value and may incorrecty incur customs charges based on this value. This is incorrect, its still a book and you will need to recover the duty charged from the courier, not us. The same applies to selling platforms like Ebay and Abebooks, who very often incorrectly charge customs and sales tax on books/printed paper because their systems can't distinquish the difference between commodity codes. On high value orders over £60,000 we will deliver at costs which is often less than the cost of insurance and incorrect duty.
Appraisals
We can provide valuations on Tolkien books and art within our particular genre. We have some 22 years experience as a professional book dealer. We have an excellent, publically recognized reputation. It is very important to have a formal valuation on record before an actual loss as it will aid in achieving maximum replacement value from the loss adjustor. General dealers and auction houses are not necessarily expert in specific authors and art genres. It is important to understand you are insuring or claiming for the replacement value, not simply the value at the time of loss. Some items are truly one of a kind and not easily replaceable.
Appraisal Fees are 5% of the valuation amount for items up to £15,000 in value, dropping to 3% over this. We will provide a certificate of current value which includes authentication of the item. Contact MarkFaith@FestivalArtandBooks.com for more information on appraisals.
Shipping terms
Orders usually ship within 3-5 business days on payment confirmation and suitably packaged for safe shipment anywhere in the world. Shipping costs are based on books weighing up to 4.5 LB, or 2 KG to Europe and North America. If your book/s is heavier or over-sized or requires extra insurance, we will contact you to let you know the extra cost.