The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien – Second Edition, Eighth Impression, 1956

An attractive early George Allen & Unwin printing in the original pictorial dust jacket

London: George Allen & Unwin, 1956. Second edition, eighth impression.
The book is bound in the original green cloth, blocked in dark blue with Tolkien’s Mountains and Dragon design.

The original illustrated dust jacket remains bright, with light surface soil and gentle rubbing at the spine and flap-fold extremities.

No previous owner’s name or other writing is present.
The text block and maps are clean, without foxing; only light dust is visible on the fore edge.
The corners remain square, with mild fading to the cloth spine corresponding to the pale areas of the jacket.
The title-page verso carries the complete printing history through the stated eighth impression of 1956.

The jacket shows only very small losses at the corners and fold areas.

Tolkien’s colour frontispiece "The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the-Water" and the original black-and-white illustrations are present.

The maps are in excellent condition, with the red and black ink still showing clear and bright against the endpapers.
Both maps are clean and bright; one carries a small removable pencil note "4/2695".

A notably well-preserved eighth impression of Tolkien’s classic, complete in the scarce original dust jacket.

Digital photos available, inquire if interested.

Other Tolkien books available, include both the UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed/Numbered/Limited Editions.