The Hobbit 1938 US 1st impression 1st state

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien US 1st Edition, 1st Impression, 1st State, with the bowing Hobbit on the title page.

This book is one of the 3000 probably to have been printed and the rarest of the 1st US edition. This books shows all features of a first state hobbit, like the Wilderland map in front and the Lonely Mountain map in back, the reverse of the description in the text and Chapter VII (Out of the Frying Pan) is incorrectly identified as 'Chapter VI'. The margins are ample and the typesetting is well crafted for readability. The tan cloth cover is printed in blue for lettering and red for the bowing hobbit emblem on the front and the dwarf's hood emblem on the spine. Embellished with 4 colour plates and black and white illustrations throughout by the author. All of which are present and in extremely clean and bright condition. This is also the first edition to feature the 'Bilbo Wakes Up' plate. Hammond & Anderson [A3b]. The text block and maps are also very clean and bright, with only the lightest foxing on a few pages.

The only fault is that some stamped numbers on one endpaper. On the inside back cover, around the edges of Thror's map there are a some dark spots. A very small tear on the page after the Wilderness map (this is a blank page) and a small hole in the margin on page 57. No bumps to the edges or corners of the boards. The original cloth shows very little shelf wear on the bottom edge. Overall the boards are very clean with no loss or frayed edges. I have provided a one piece fascimile of the very rare 1st Dustjacket to help protect and show off this lovely classic of modern fiction.

Digital photo's available, inquire if interested.

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