Rare The Hobbit First Edition Sold

A rare first edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, one of 1,500 original copies published in 1937, was discovered during a house clearance in Bristol, United Kingdom. The book, found without a dust cover, was auctioned by Auctioneum and sold for £43,000 to a private collector in the United Kingdom, significantly exceeding its estimated value of £10,000-£12,000. The copy belonged to the family library of Hubert Priestley, a botanist with connections to the University of Oxford, where J. R. R. Tolkien was a professor. Both Priestley and J. R. R. Tolkien shared mutual correspondence with C. S. Lewis. This sale is considered a record price for a first edition of The Hobbit without a dust cover, highlighting the enduring appeal and market value of J. R. R. Tolkien's works.