Latest news with #Auctioneum
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rare first edition of 'The Hobbit' sells for record price at auction
More than 50 years after his death, J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy masterpieces never cease to enchant audiences around the world. Now, a rare first edition of Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' has been sold for £43,000 (€49, 500) at an online auction on Wednesday. The first edition was expected to fetch between £10,000-£12,000 at auction, ultimately selling for four times that amount. The book is one of 1,500 original copies of Tolkien's beloved novel, which was published in September 1937. Only 'a few hundred' from the initial print run remain and are considered 'some of the most sought-after books in modern literature,' according to the British auction house Auctioneum. Attracting bidders from across the world, the book was purchased by a UK private collector in what is believed to be a record price for a first edition. The edition was discovered hidden on a bookcase during a house clearance in Bristol. After spotting its faded green cover, Auctioneum's book specialist Caitlin Riley went on to meticulously inspect the well-preserved treasure. 'Nobody knew it was there,' said Riley. '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 'rare find' is bound in light green cloth and features black and white illustrations by the author, making it even more unique as later editions colourised them. 'When I realised what it was, my heart began pounding,' shared Riley. Tolkien developed the mythical world of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" during his time as a teacher at the University of Oxford. The auctioned book was passed down in the family library of Hubert Priestley, a famous botanist with 'strong connections' to the university. Tolkien and Priestley most likely knew each other, according to Auctioneum, who said both men shared mutual correspondence with author C.S. Lewis. "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" are two of the best-selling books of all time, with more than 250 million copies sold worldwide. The 2000s hit film franchise based on the books cemented their classics status for generations to come. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rare first edition of 'The Hobbit' sells for record price at auction
More than 50 years after his death, J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy masterpieces never cease to enchant audiences around the world. Now, a rare first edition of Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' has been sold for £43,000 (€49, 500) at an online auction on Wednesday. The first edition was expected to fetch between £10,000-£12,000 at auction, ultimately selling for four times that amount. The book is one of 1,500 original copies of Tolkien's beloved novel, which was published in September 1937. Only 'a few hundred' from the initial print run remain and are considered 'some of the most sought-after books in modern literature,' according to the British auction house Auctioneum. Attracting bidders from across the world, the book was purchased by a UK private collector in what is believed to be a record price for a first edition. The edition was discovered hidden on a bookcase during a house clearance in Bristol. After spotting its faded green cover, Auctioneum's book specialist Caitlin Riley went on to meticulously inspect the well-preserved treasure. 'Nobody knew it was there,' said Riley. '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 'rare find' is bound in light green cloth and features black and white illustrations by the author, making it even more unique as later editions colourised them. 'When I realised what it was, my heart began pounding,' shared Riley. Tolkien developed the mythical world of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" during his time as a teacher at the University of Oxford. The auctioned book was passed down in the family library of Hubert Priestley, a famous botanist with 'strong connections' to the university. Tolkien and Priestley most likely knew each other, according to Auctioneum, who said both men shared mutual correspondence with author C.S. Lewis. "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" are two of the best-selling books of all time, with more than 250 million copies sold worldwide. The 2000s hit film franchise based on the books cemented their classics status for generations to come. Solve the daily Crossword
Kuwait Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
Rare first edition of ‘The Hobbit' set for auction sale
LONDON: A rare first edition of JRR Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' was expected to sell for thousands of pounds on Wednesday after it was found during a house clearance in southwest England. 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 auction house Auctioneum, which discovered the book on an old bookcase at a home in Bristol. '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. Bidding, which ends at 2000 GMT on Wednesday, reached £23,000 ($30,000) by late morning. Auctioneum unearthed the book during a routine house clearance after its owner passed away. 'Nobody knew it was there,' said Auctioneum rare books specialist Caitlin Riley. '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,' said Riley. 'I couldn't believe my eyes,' the specialist 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 CS 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 beloved 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. – AFP
Observer
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Observer
Rare first edition of 'The Hobbit' set for auction sale
A rare first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" was expected to sell for thousands of pounds on Wednesday after it was found during a house clearance in southwest England. 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 auction house Auctioneum, which discovered the book on an old bookcase at a home in Bristol. "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. Bidding, which ends at 2000 GMT on Wednesday, reached £23,000 ($30,000) by late morning. Auctioneum unearthed the book during a routine house clearance after its owner passed away. "Nobody knew it was there," said Auctioneum rare books specialist Caitlin Riley. "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," said Riley. "I couldn't believe my eyes," the specialist 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 beloved 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. —AFP
CBC
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Precious 1st-edition of The Hobbit found amid reference books and children's tomes
Social Sharing In a find that would be worthy of a place among Smaug's pile of gold and jewels underneath the Lonely Mountain, a rare book specialist has found a first-edition copy of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. "It's such a monumental piece of fantasy history. It's one of the Holy Grails of book collecting," Caitlin Riley told As It Happens guest host Rebecca Zandbergen. The relic was found, not in a dragon's lair, but amid reference books and tattered children's tomes at a house clearance sale. And while over 100 million copies of the book have sold since it was published in 1937, only 1,500 first-edition copies were printed. Since it's a children's book, many copies are battered and worn, with few still possessing their dust cover. On Wednesday night, it sold for £43,000 (around $79,000 Cdn) through British auction house Auctioneum to a private collector in the U.K., setting a record for a sale of The Hobbit without a dust cover. "It's gone to well over three times my estimate, so I don't think we realized quite how exciting it was going to be," said Riley. Value is dependent on the condition of the book, as well as the presence of the book's dust cover. Other copies have sold for £137,000 and £60,000. The discovery In Chapter 4, The Hobbit reads: "You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after." And for Riley, who works for Auctioneum as their resident rare book expert, it was exactly the kind of thing she was looking for. "It's just one of these things that if you work in my industry, everyone dreams of finding that one thing that's going to make such an amazing story," said Riley. Two months ago, she received a message from one of her colleagues who was going through books at a deceased person's house, seeing if there was anything the auction house in Bath and East Bristol might be interested in. The shelves of books had yet to yield anything particularly special, that is, until he sent her a photo of a book with a green cover. It had an image of mountains at the top of the book, and a long dragon running along the bottom, and The Hobbit emblazoned on the front. Riley couldn't believe it. "I kind of freaked out," said Riley. "I think I probably nearly passed out from sheer shock." It wasn't until her colleague brought the book to her and she was able to get a better look at it did she let herself believe that her suspicions were true. "As soon as I saw him get out of the car with the book I knew straight away that it was exactly what I was hoping it would be, and then things got really emotional," said Riley. There and back again The library originally belonged to a man named Joseph Hubert Priestley, brother of Sir Raymond Edward Priestley, an Antarctic explorer who had connections with the University of Oxford and communications with C.S. Lewis, another renowned author and close friend of Tolkien. "It's my belief that he probably knew Tolkien as well," said Riley. "If he was running in the same circles as C.S. Lewis, there's a very good chance that he did know Tolkien." That means he likely got the book from Tolkien himself. And while Priestley may not have known the future value of the book when he received it, the world Tolkien created continues to capture people's imaginations. "Demand for The Hobbit has never waned," said Aimee Peake, president of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of Canada, and owner of Bison Books in Winnipeg. And it's not just The Hobbit. After publishing that tale, Tolkien got to work on his Lord of the Rings trilogy, publishing Fellowship of the Ring in 1954 followed shortly by The Two Towers, Return of the King, and many other adventures in Middle Earth. Those tales spawned big budget movies including director Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy which won a total of 17 Oscars, and the ongoing Amazon Prime series, The Rings of Power. "The world Tolkien built is novel enough to create a unique experience, while being full of relatable moments and charming characters," said Peake. Peake just returned from a trip to New Zealand where she visited the Hobbiton set, a key filming location in the movies where the titular hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, lives. She says the roughly 30 people on the bus tour included tourists of all ages, from across the world. "The story speaks to individuals, and at the same time is a shared cultural experience through diverse generations and cultures," said Peake. Meanwhile, for Riley, much like the road of adventure, her search for rare books goes on and on.
