The Hobbit | 1970, signed presentation copy inscribed by J. R. R. Tolkien

The present copy was featured on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow as part of Michael Dobson’s group of Tolkien presentation copies, all signed for him after his aunt and uncle, neighbours of Tolkien in Poole, asked the author to inscribe them as a birthday gift.

J. R. R. Tolkien. The Hobbit. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1970.

Third edition, fifth impression. Illustrated with twelve plates, with advertisement leaf at rear. Publisher’s original green cloth, in the original dust jacket, price-clipped. A particularly attractive example, retaining its increasingly scarce period jacket.

Author’s presentation copy, inscribed by Tolkien on the half-title for Michael Dobson as a birthday gift arranged by Tolkien’s neighbours in Poole.

The inscription gives this otherwise handsome later edition a particularly personal character. Tolkien and his wife Edith had moved to Branksome, Poole, in 1968, seeking a quieter life after his retirement from Oxford and the increasing intrusion that came with his international fame. During these years they became friendly with their neighbours, who purchased this copy of The Hobbit as a birthday present for their nephew, Michael Dobson, and asked Tolkien if he would sign it for him. He graciously agreed.

The book therefore belongs to Tolkien’s final years, not as a formal presentation to a literary figure or collector, but as a simple favour for people he knew personally. That informality is part of its appeal. The Hobbit had by then become one of the most famous works of modern literature, yet Tolkien was still signing a copy for a neighbour’s nephew as a birthday present.

Tolkien and Edith remained in Poole until her death in November 1971. Tolkien returned to Oxford the following year, in March 1972, and died in September 1973. The present inscription therefore dates from the closing period of his life, when signed copies of his books were already becoming increasingly sought after.

Signed copies of The Hobbit are among the most desirable Tolkien books on the market. First editions signed by the author are exceptionally rare and are now seldom encountered outside major collections. As a result, attractive later editions with strong contemporary presentation inscriptions, particularly those with direct personal provenance to Tolkien himself, are increasingly important to collectors.

Provenance: Michael Dobson, with gift inscription on the half-title, “From Auntie Win and Uncle Bert, 1971”; thence by descent.

A charming and unusually well-provenanced signed copy of The Hobbit, linking Tolkien directly to his Poole years and to the small circle of neighbours around him during the final chapter of his life.