Heritage Auction UK Hobbit 1st/1st

A very fine presentation copy in a superlative dust jacket
J. R. R. Tolkien. The Hobbit. The Hobbit; or, There and Back Again. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1937. 8vo. Frontispiece and eight text illustrations by the author, inserted half-tone plate by the author, integral advertisement leaf at end. Original publisher's green cloth stamped in blue, off-white endpapers printed with Thror's map and a map of Wilderland after drawings by the author, top edge stained green; original pictorial dust jacket after drawing by the author, with "Dodgeson" corrected by hand on rear flap (small chip on top edge of rear panel, some other very minor edgewear); housed in imaginative full morocco slipcase, by R. Patron, Hollywood, CA.

FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY, inscribed on the front flyleaf by the author: "Charles & Dorothy Moore / from. / J.R.R.T / with love / September 1937." A rare presentation copy of one of the most widely-read works of fantasy literature, inscribed to his friends Charles and Dorothy Moore, in the year of publication.

According to Wayne G. Hammond, Dorothy Moore was an old friend of Tolkien's wife Edith. In the new edition of Tolkien's Letters (2023), "Dorothy and Charlie Moore" are described as "family friends" living in Exeter, Devon, in connection with a holiday the Tolkiens' youngest son, Christopher, spent with them. Dorothy died in the early 1940s; the Tolkiens stayed in contact with Charles but lost touch with him around 1955.

Condition: Cloth with very minor fading and discoloration. Dust jacket with very slight wear to head of spine panel and extremities, with a few tiny closed tears; a few spots slightly rubbed along flap folds. Overall a very fine copy in a bright and exceptional dust jacket.

Provenance: Charles and Dorothy Moore (presentation inscription on front flyleaf);

References: Currey 476.