The Hobbit – Second Impression (1937)

Published by George Allen & Unwin, London – with Facsimile Dust Jacket

This second impression of The Hobbit was dated 1937 and printed in December of that year, just three months after the first edition, in a limited run of only 2,300 copies. It retains the original text of the encounter with Gollum and introduces four colour illustrations alongside the black-and-white illustrations and remains one of the scarcest and most desirable Tolkien books for serious collectors. This particular copy comes with a high-quality facsimile dust jacket that faithfully reproduces the original’s iconic mountain-and-dragon design.

Key Features:
- Second Impression, dated 1937 (only 2,300 copies printed).
- Publisher: George Allen & Unwin, London.
- Original green cloth binding with black lettering and iconic dragon motif.
- Includes all illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien, including colour frontispiece and endpaper maps.
- Comes with a high-quality facsimile of the original dust jacket.

Condition:
- Very good condition overall.
- Boards are faded with some colour loss, particularly at spine ends.
- Interior pages are clean, with only light scattered foxing.
- Original maps and illustrations intact and well-preserved.
- Facsimile dust jacket is in very good shape and housed in a removable archival sleeve.

An early Hobbit retaining the original Gollum episode, with the four colour illustrations introduced in this second impression.

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