Copy of The Hobbit sells for massive £43,000 after being found in Bristol house clear out
The copy of JRR Tolkien's 1937 book was found on a bookcase at a home in Bristol during a routine house clearance.
It is one of only 1,500 copies initially printed in September 1937 and had never come onto the open market before.
Although it didn't have its dustjacket the copy was in almost immaculate condition.
It had been expected to fetch about £10,000 at the auction in Bath but attracted huge interest which drove the price up.
The book eventually sold for a hammer price of £43,000. With auctioneer's fees added on the total price paid was over £52,000.
It smashed the previous record for a first edition copy without its dustjacket which stood at £19,000.
The sale was held at Auctioneum in Bath and the book, that has never come on to the market before, includes rare drawings by Tolkien himself including a map with Germanic writing.
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, is a children's fantasy novel and one of the best-selling books of all time, with more than 100 million copies sold.
It is set in the fantasy world Middle-earth and follows the hobbit Bilbo Baggins on a quest to find treasure.
Caitlin Riley, of Auctioneum, said: 'The majority of examples you do see come to the market are a bit tattered and tired looking.
'With this one, nobody's opened it, nobody's touched it, so it was just so exciting.'
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