Khamûl Hopefully you put in the wrong Date of Birth

I love this from Urulöké's link

The Privacy Policy spells out our core privacy principles, and how your privacy is protected on eBay. It also spells out the limitations to privacy on eBay.

I wish it had been protected, but C'est la vie, as Khamûl points out, we have to get used to zero privacy as all your details are online and companies like ebay, do not look after them

eBay Item #321414696443

Here's a first - a copied letter !!?!?

Uh-oh...

eBay Item #360940952034

Wow, that oil painting has a horrible signature and no provenance and no relation to any artwork properly attributed to him - sounds like a steal! (The seller stealing from the buyer...)

Hi laurel,

given that the seller posted high-res photos of all six pages that you could print out for free, seems like paying is not really needed?

I have been known to buy auction catalogs that have handwriting samples printed in them, etc., but this goes beyond what I would be willing to pay for, unfortunately. Probably legal issues here too.

mmmmm
As i recall the painting sold for circa £300 at auction. I hope no one falls for it!

It is currently up to £620 and still has almost a week to go...

Am I missing something here, is this the US 1951 Hobbit or UK 1951 Hobbit, it looks like the GA&U version to me, from what little is left of the original Dust Jacket?

American Edition. Second Revised Edition, Fifth Impression. 5B. "Identical to the British 5th printing.except for the Houghton Mifflin notation at the base of the spine. The title page states "London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, Museum Street"; the colophon shows the A&U St. George and the Dragon insignia and the addresses of the publishers offices worldwide; and the title page verso shows the full printing history." Green pictorial boards. Pictorial Eps. Color frontis. Half-title verso notes "Also by J. R. R. Tolkien | Farmer Giles of Ham" / Green boards light and attractive. Light toning to edges. Small rubbing/fraying to bottom edge of boards. Faint blue stain over foot of spine (may be color bleed from jacket. Light dusting to top edge of text block. Partial jacket. Missing front panel entirely and top third of rear panel. Remains of jacket in mylar protector. Bookseller Inventory # 017163

https://affiliates.abebooks.com/c/9724 ... 2526amp%253Btn%253Dhobbit

A batch of 726 A&U copies were exported to the US.
They had the A&U title page and jacket with HM binding.
http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/earlyhobbits.php#5th