The Facsimile Hobbit

I noticed some posts on Reddit in https://www.reddit.com/r/tolkienbooks/ about the Facsimile Hobbit and decided to get another copy, which is currently the 6th (stated) impression, though it should really be the 7th impression.

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The Hobbit (Facsimile 1st Edition) (2016)

J. R. R. Tolkien
9780007440832
HarperCollins (2016)

£30.00 HarperCollins (Hardback) - Availability: Click to check

$30.40 Amazon.com (Hardcover) - Availability: LEADTIME

£24.93 Amazon.co.uk (Hardcover) - Availability: IN_STOCK

€28.99 Amazon.de (Gebundene Ausgabe) - Availability: LEADTIME

€30.27 AbeBooks - Availability: Click to check

$41.01 eBay US - Availability: Click to check

£41.01 eBay UK - Availability: Click to check

Check amazon.ca • amazon.es • amazon.fr • amazon.it

If you do not have a copy at all, then I recommend the Gift set edition, for the extras that come with this copy, including Tolkien's Essay on Dragons.

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The Hobbit 80th Anniversary Giftset (UK, Illustrated, HB)

J. R. R. Tolkien
9780008259549
HarperCollins (2018-05-31)

£50.00 HarperCollins (Hardback) - Availability: Click to check

$44.40 Amazon.com (Hardcover) - Availability: LEADTIME

£37.69 Amazon.co.uk (Hardcover) - Availability: IN_STOCK

€40.00 Amazon.de (Gebundene Ausgabe) - Availability: IN_STOCK_SCARCE

£46.26 AbeBooks - Availability: Click to check

$60.92 eBay US - Availability: Click to check

£60.93 eBay UK - Availability: Click to check

Check amazon.ca • amazon.es • amazon.fr • amazon.it

I am showing four editions of The Hobbit in this article

(a) The Hobbit 1937, 1st edition, 1st impression, printed by Unwin Printers, Woking
(b) The Facsimile Hobbit 2016, 1st impression (first state), printed by Rotolitto Lombarda
(c) The Facsimile Hobbit Gift set 2017, 1st impression (second state), printed by RR Donnelley APS, China
(d) The Facsimile Hobbit 2016, 6th impression, printed by RR Donnelley APS, China

(a)-(d)

June “Brandy Hill Gardens #2”

(a) at the top, (d) at the bottom

(a) (b)
(c) (d)

January "Aragorn Son of Arathorn"

(a)
(d)

February "All that is gold does not glitter"

March "Not all those who wander are lost"

(b)
(d)

April "The old that is strong does not wither."

(b)(d)

The 6th Impression

Is it worth getting a new impression, if you already have the facsimile Hobbit?

I think it is, the book fits very well into the slipcase and is very easy to take out and look at, the slip cased first impression is not. The book is also sewn, which is a nice improvement.

The binding, staining and paper, used in the facsimile will never be an exact match for the 1937 original, but I think these are very good, and I like the use of whiter paper for the end-maps in this impression.

I also prefer the green used for the binding, but I know that some people prefer the colour used for the 2016 release, I think you may have me to blame for it being changed if you preferred the original shade.

The blue on the dust-jacket is a bit lighter on this impression.

The only change that I would really like to see would be the dust-jacket flaps being reproduced photographically from the 1937 1st impression dust-jacket, but this is a minor point and does not spoil the experience of the book for me.