TOLKIEN, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel]. The Hobbit Or There and Back Again. London: [HarperCollins] George Allen & Unwin [2016]. 8vo, 310pp. + [2]advts. Light green cloth pictorially stamped in navy; top edge green. Differing two-color map endpapers; 10 b&w plates. A fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket and housed in a color pictorial clamshell case with a lenticular cover label. The clamshell box also contains a 62-page booklet celebrating the 80^th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit featuring full-color reproductions of Tolkien’s artwork, a fold-out version of Thror’s map which reveals the secret moonrunes when held up to light, and a cd of Tolkien himself reading selections from the book.

80^th anniversary facsimile edition. This commemorative gift set features the first facsimile reproduction of the original first edition of The Hobbit, featuring the original version of the text which had been altered by Tolkien in 1947 to bring the text into better accord with the events of The Lord of the Rings. Even the dust jacket is a facsimile with the original publication price of “7s. 6d.” on the front flap and the publisher’s comparison of the book with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland on the rear flap. Given the rarity of first editions of The Hobbit, this handsome anniversary edition allows readers the opportunity to examine the text of The Hobbit in its original form. This beautifully crafted edition comes housed in a clamshell box with a striking lenticular, illustrated cover label of Tolkien’s cover art, and includes an exclusive CD of archive recordings capturing Tolkien reading sections of The Hobbit, a special copy of Thror’s map which reveals the secret moonrunes when held to the light, and an accompanying 62-page booklet that details the history of the book. A treasure for any Tolkien lover!