Latest news with #firstedition
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Hobbit book found during house clearance sells for £43k
A rare first edition of The Hobbit, unearthed during a standard house clearance, has fetched a staggering £43K. The 1937 copy of J. R. R. Tolkien's masterpiece was found nestled deep within an old bookshelf in a Bristol residence. This particular edition is one of the mere 1,500 copies initially printed in September 1937. Read more: The Birmingham barber where 'two Ibiza Final Bosses a day' roll out Such was the demand for the book that within weeks all copies had been snapped up, necessitating a second print run. The remaining books from this initial batch are now regarded as some of the most coveted in contemporary literature. Originally estimated to bring in 10K, it ended up selling for £43,000 at auction after attracting hundreds of bidders worldwide. The fortunate winner was a private collector based here in the UK. "The amount of interest in this special book has been monumental," shares book specialist Caitlin Riley from Auctioneum Ltd. "Within days of it going online we'd attracted interest from America, Canada, Norway and Australia. It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks." This result is phenomenal. It's surpassed every expectation, and sets a new bar for the early first editions. "To think that just a few weeks ago this book was sat undiscovered on a bookshelf in a Bristol house, and has gone on to make headlines around the world, is quite incredible." If we hadn't had been asked to look around the house, it could have so easily ended up in the bin. ". The book originated from the family library of Hubert Priestley, a renowned botanist in the 1930s and sibling to Antarctic explorer and geologist Sir Raymond Edward Priestley. Priestley had significant ties with the University of Oxford, where Tolkien held the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon and was a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford. Both men corresponded with fellow author C.S. Lewis, suggesting they likely knew each other. ''It's the connection to Tolkien and the important provenance that makes this book so special. It's not just any first edition; it belonged to someone who very likely called Tolkien an acquaintance'' Caitlin points out.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
First edition of The Hobbit discovered in UK home sells for £43,000
A 'rare' first edition of JRR Tolkien book The Hobbit discovered during a house clearance in Bristol has sold at auction for £43,000. It is one of only 1,500 copies printed in September 1937, according to auction house Auctioneum, and was sold to a UK-based private collector at an auction held in Bath. Caitlin Riley, book specialist at Auctioneum, said: 'It's the quintessential auction story. Everyone dreams of finding a rare item hidden in plain sight, and here we are. 'House clearances can be tricky, stressful and troublesome – if ever there is a good advert for our service, it's this! This could have so easily been sent to landfill or disposed of by someone who didn't realise it was there. It really is a lucky survivor! 'The result just goes to show the pure love for Tolkien's work. Written nearly 90 years ago, it's amazing how relevant and popular it still is. ' People still want the escape; they want to delve into a fantastical world and discover new characters. Some people are clearly willing to pay large sums for the privilege. 'Much like the tale within the covers – selling this has been a real adventure. 'We've had hundreds of inquiries from all around the world and whilst we were expecting a certain amount of interest, we weren't quite expecting this much! It's a wonderful result, for a very special book.' Including buyer's premium, which is an additional charge that the winning bidder must pay on top of the hammer price, the book totalled £52,000. It was discovered in the family library of Hubert Priestley, a famous botanist in the 1930s and brother to Antarctic explorer and geologist Sir Raymond Edward Priestley. The auction house said Priestley and Tolkien both shared mutual correspondence with author CS Lewis, as well as strong connections to the University of Oxford, meaning it is likely both men knew each other. Ms Riley said: 'To think that just a few weeks ago this book was sat undiscovered on a bookshelf in a Bristol house, and has gone on to make headlines around the world, is quite incredible. 'It's the connection to Tolkien and the important provenance that makes this book so special. It's not just any first edition; it belonged to someone who very likely called Tolkien an acquaintance.' The Hobbit, a children's fantasy novel published in 1937, follows hobbit Bilbo Baggins as he is joined by wizard Gandalf and the 13 dwarves of Thorin's Company in a bid to win their treasure from dragon Smaug. Peter Jackson directed the film trilogy, which starred Martin Freeman as titular hobbit Bilbo.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘Astonishingly rare' first edition of The Hobbit sells at auction for nearly €50,000
A rare first edition of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit that was found during a house clearance has sold at auction for £43,000 (€49,250). Bought by a private collector in the UK, the book is one of 1,500 original copies of the seminal fantasy novel that were published in 1937. Of those, only 'a few hundred are believed to still remain', according to the auction house Auctioneum, which discovered the novel without a dust cover on a bookcase at a home in Bristol. Bidders from around the world drove the price up by more than four times what the auction house expected. 'It's a wonderful result for a very special book,' said Caitlin Riley, Auctioneum's rare books specialist. 'Nobody knew it was there. It was just a run-of-the-mill bookcase. It was clearly an early Hobbit at first glance, so I just pulled it out and began to flick through it, never expecting it to be a true first edition.' The copy is bound in light green cloth and features black-and-white illustrations by Tolkien, who created his Middle-earth universe while a professor at the University of Oxford. The book was passed down in the family library of Hubert Priestley, a botanist connected to the university and the brother of the Antarctic explorer and geologist, Sir Raymond Edward Priestley. It is likely the men knew each other, according to Auctioneum, which said Priestley and Tolkien shared mutual correspondence with his fellow author CS Lewis, who was also at Oxford. [ Why does Lord of the Rings appeal to the radical right? Opens in new window ] Ms Riley added it was astonishingly rare to find a first edition in such good condition. 'Being a children's book, most of them have seen children's hands, children's colouring pens in some cases, so to have one that appears to be completely unread and never enjoyed is really, really astonishingly rare,' she told the BBC. The Hobbit, which was followed by The Lord of the Rings, has sold more than 100m copies and was adapted into a film trilogy in the 2010s. A first edition of The Hobbit with a handwritten note by Tolkien in Elvish, a family of fictional languages, sold for £137,000 at Sotheby's in 2015. - Guardian
CTV News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Rare ‘Hobbit' first edition sold for US$57,000
FILE- Joy Asfar, of the auction house Bonhams examines a copy of the 1937 first issue of the first edition of 'The Hobbit' by author J.R.R. Tolkien on display at the auction house in London, in this March 17, 2008 file photo. LONDON — A rare first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' sold for 43,000 pounds (US$57,000) at auction on Wednesday, after it was found during a house clearance in southwest England. Purchased by a private collector in the United Kingdom, the book is one of 1,500 original copies of the British author's seminal fantasy novel that were published in 1937. Of those, only 'a few hundred are believed to still remain', according to the auction house Auctioneum, which discovered the book on an bookcase at a home in Bristol. Bidders from around the world drove the price up by more than four times what the auction house expected for the manuscript. 'It's a wonderful result, for a very special book,' said Auctioneum rare books specialist Caitlin Riley. 'The surviving books from the initial print run are now considered some of the most sought-after books in modern literature,' Auctioneum said in a statement. Auctioneum unearthed the book during a routine house clearance after its owner passed away. 'Nobody knew it was there,' Riley said. 'It was just a run-of-the-mill bookcase.' 'It was clearly an early Hobbit at first glance, so I just pulled it out and began to flick through it, never expecting it to be a true first edition,' she said. 'I couldn't believe my eyes,' she added, calling it an 'unimaginably rare find'. The copy is bound in light green cloth and features rare black-and-white illustrations by Tolkien, who created his beloved Middle Earth universe while he was a professor at the University of Oxford. The book was passed down in the family library of Hubert Priestley, a botanist connected to the university. 'It is likely that both men knew each other,' according to Auctioneum, which said Priestley and Tolkien shared mutual correspondence with author C.S. Lewis, who was also at Oxford. 'The Hobbit', which was followed by the epic series 'The Lord of the Rings', has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. The sagas were turned into a hit movie franchise in the 2000s. A first edition of 'The Hobbit' with a handwritten note in Elvish by the author sold for £137,000 at Sotheby's in June 2015.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rare copy of The Hobbit sells for 'record-breaking' sum
An "astonishingly rare" first edition of The Hobbit has sold for a "record-breaking" £43,000 at auction. The copy of JRR Tolkien's novel is one of only 1,500 copies that were printed in 1937. It was discovered without a dustcover on a bookcase during a home clearance in Bristol. It was sold to a private collector in the UK through an online auction at Auctioneum in Bath, Somerset, earlier. Caitlin Riley, the book specialist from the auction house, said: "It's the quintessential auction story. Everyone dreams of finding a rare item hidden in plain sight, and here we are." More news stories for Somerset Listen to the latest news for Somerset The book, which was only expected to fetch between £10,000-£12,000 at auction, attracted hundreds of bidders from all over the world. Ms Riley said the book is in "absolutely beautiful condition" and she believed it sold for a record price for a first edition without a dustcover. "House clearances can be tricky, stressful and troublesome... this could have so easily been sent to landfill, or disposed of by someone who didn't realise it was there," she added. The book came from the family library of Hubert Priestley who was a famous botanist in the 1930s and brother to the Antarctic explorer and geologist, Sir Raymond Edward Priestley. Priestley had strong connections to the University of Oxford where Tolkien stood as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and a Fellow of Pembroke College. Both men knew fellow author C.S. Lewis and it is likely that they knew each other. "It's the connection to Tolkien and the important provenance that makes this book so special. It's not just any first edition; it belonged to someone who very likely called Tolkien an acquaintance," Ms Riley said. She added it was astonishingly rare to find a first edition in such good condition. "Being a children's book, most of them have seen children's hands, children's colouring pens in some cases, so to have one that appears to be completely unread and never enjoyed is really, really astonishingly rare," she said. The Hobbit is one of the most successful children's novels, with more than 100 million copies sold. The story is set in the fantasy world Middle-earth and follows the hobbit Bilbo Baggins on a quest to find treasure. The rare edition that was sold also includes rare drawings by Tolkien himself. Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. More on this story Home clearance unearths rare copy of The Hobbit Rare round egg sells at auction for £420 Menu signed by Albert Einstein sells for £18,000
