The Hobbit: Rare first edition expected to fetch thousands at auction

A rare first edition of JRR Tolkien’s 1937 novel The Hobbit is expected to fetch thousands of pounds at auction.

The first impression copy is one of only 1,500 original pressings of the fantasy novel – that went on to spawn Tolkien’s universe of Middle-Earth.

It was found in a chest of drawers at a home in Berkshire, where it had been left dormant after being inherited.

The novel will be sold by Cotswold-based Kinghams Auctioneers on Thursday.

Adrian Rathbone, the auctioneers’ associate director, said: “I have never handled a first edition before in my 20 to 25 years in this industry, it’s a very rare find.”