A super rare copy of The Hobbit! | Antiques Roadshow | BBC Studios

First aired in 1990 All valuations were correct at the time of broadcast. Hugh Scully and the experts from Antiques Roadshow take a look at some fantastic antiques and the history and stories surrounding them. Subscribe: bit.ly/BBCStudios
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[@VenturiLife]

Tolkien's beautiful hand-writing is instantly recognizable.

[@geckopubg]

3500 is equivalent to to around 9000 these days, after the success of the films one similar copy sold for £137000 in 2015

[@windmacher]

Good to know!

[@jacksonsmith5490]

Dang, I really wanted one for £3500

[@sirandrelefaedelinoge]

I paid £35 for mine

[@KenS1267]

I was going to say, 3500 would be a steal.

[@delciagarcia8287]

Now that amount makes sense! Thank you for sharing it.

[@seansullivan3165]

If that is the "aunt jane book" it sold for over £40k in 2002, Tolkien was very close to his aunt jane and it would have been one of the first books he signed and gave as a gift

[@paulleverton9569]

I just 'guestimated' a price closer to £35,000 but if it sold for more than £40,000 twenty years ago... We're probably closer to $100,000 now. I buy new releases that I think will appreciate in value but I've never had the foresight to purchase anything like the original Harry Potter or G R R Martin stuff. I mostly just notice authors whose books sell for more when they're a few years old than they did as brand new books being sold by Amazon. Then I buy a copy of their next release and hope the pattern holds.

[@varsityathlete9927]

@@paulleverton9569 buy math and science books. that is where the value is coming now. esp AI related, like academic signed papers. Robotics is another one. . space technology maybe. what high end collectors are buying are significant science published works to build libraries, not a surprise many of the rich collectors are somewhat connected to tech. You could get this stuff effectively for nothing 10 years ago. Very few people chase this market, I know it existed because I extensively datamine abe and other sources for trends. first edition modern fiction is a complete minefield now, too many collectors with mint everything exist. you really have to luck out on a breakout work plus it's pointless if it's not signed for the most part. That is the value adder.

[@elainechubb971]

@@paulleverton9569 The huge valuation is only for when there is a relatively small print run for the first edition (as with The Hobbit and at least the first volume of LOTR). A book that is widely hyped before publication and has a first edition of hundreds of thousands of copies won't be worth anywhere near as much. You need a new(ish) and relatively unknown author and a small print run. (Similar to baseball cards.) Also you need a first edition, period. "First edition, fourth impression," say, which is (or was) the British system every time the publisher ordered more copies, isn't a true first edition in the collector's eyes.

[@CoolHand032]

@@paulleverton9569 oh, right, 2002 was 20 years ago...

[@leonardiux345]

@@CoolHand032 🙃

[@pschroeter1]

I'm astounded by how lovely the hand printed text is in Tolkien's hand. The fact that there are two Tolkien's mentioned should add to the value too.

[@Bodkin_Ye_Pointy]

As a public servant I used to deal with hard copy files that went back to federation. The standard of penmanship was to be wept over it was so clean and legible and flowing. Shame some mook ruined it all because kids did not need the pressure of conforming to standards.

[@brandocalrissian3294]

@@Bodkin_Ye_Pointy I get what your saying. I'm a product of that and my handwriting is half shorthand half cursive because of it. I write like a doctor.

[@pschroeter1]

​@@Bodkin_Ye_Pointy Half a century they sent me to handwriting school because mine was so bad. At least the nice student teachers gave us cookies. I think the Tolkien hand writing looks a lot like the text on the maps inside the books.

[@molybdomancer195]

I used to work at Oxford University Press. Tolkien worked there in the famous Oxford English Dictionary. They have many slips of paper with his handwriting about words such as “walrus”. It is always so neat

[@davy_K]

There's a very nice book that presents all of the letters Tolkein wrote to his children as Father Christmas. They are shown as is with his marvellous writing (some of it in fake shaky hand because of the cold) and drawings and are also printed for slightly easier reading (esp. the shaky hand letters!). The original envelopes are shown too - worth a look if you like that sort of thing.

[@Bareego]

I imagine it would be worth a lot more these days.

[@marcushagey4110]

Agreed 100%. My jaw dropped at a measly 3500.

[@syrus3k]

Indeed. I had 100k in my head

[@JasonKifner]

@@syrus3k Same. I think it would easily go for that much.

[@jamesmaybrick2001]

@@marcushagey4110 Maybe, maybe not. Simon Tolkein is the fellow that doesnt actually much care for middle earth (as written by the great man himself) and is the one who sold the rights to Bezos for the utter travesty that was ROP. Mixed sentiments regarding anything to do with Simon Tolkein.

[@danquaylesitsspeltpotatoe8307]

@@syrus3k When was this recorded? Should be more. These days 100K easy!

[@85NickT]

He didn't notice or didn't mention that the letter is dated 22nd September, Bilbo and Frodo's birthday.

[@nictall3370]

In the 1980s as a teenager I had the pleasure of visiting Tolkien’s daughter Priscilla in her house in North Oxford. Lots of family photos with a familiar looking gentleman with a pipe all round the house. I looked along her shelves, found a copy of The Hobbit. Took it out to have a look and found a near fine 1st edition with complete dust jacket, inscribed by Tolkien to his daughter. I realised just how valuable this object was and very carefully put it back in the shelf. I later read that only 500 first editions were printed, and quite a few were destroyed in the Blitz. Many of them surface in Australia where a shipment went to a department store out there. I once met an old man who had a genuine 1st edition (sadly no wrapper) which his aunt bought for him and posted to him in Argentina where he was living at the time (his father has an engineer stationed out there).

[@ShadowLynx777]

From official Tolkien sources, 1,500 first edition Hobbit books were printed, not 500. They're worth around $80k to $300k now.

[@spmoran4703]

What a treasure . One of the first published books . That sent many of us on a fascinating journey .

[@ChakatNightspark]

There are a bunch of First Edition books out there. I collected a few First Edition books over the years.

[@existenceisrelative]

Your punc. Tuation is a bit off. For the phrasing.

[@DeeEight]

32 years ago this was probably a reasonable valuation... now...after all the moves...I'm sure that book would fetch six figures.

[@aletcetera9883]

I’ve seen first editions with no dust jacket or signatures go for $49k on auction sites, this first edition with a dust jacket (if it miraculously hasn’t deteriorated further) and signatures + a letter from JRR, would certainly hit six figures, maybe even twice over.

[@fixinman]

Also of note of the first edition the scene with the ring was rewritten in the second edition because Tolkien was bringing in line with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. That makes this first edition even more valuable than any other.

[@mournblade1066]

No only that, Gollum GIVES the ring to Bilbo, and they part on friendly terms.

[@XoXo475]

@@mournblade1066 woah 😮

[@aylapaul]

@@mournblade1066 no way!! I need to read that!

[@ryancruz1876]

The Lord the Rings isn’t a trilogy.

[@mournblade1066]

@@ryancruz1876 Um. . . what? The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. That's three novels. A trilogy. The Hobbit isn't part of the trilogy, nor is The Simarillion, but they take place in the same universe.

[@dwilborn1257]

That dust cover is what first drew me to that book. It jumped out at me from the library shelf. I just had to read it.

[@dg-hughes]

The provenance alone should have added enormous value. Dust jackets alone with no book for rare books can often sell for crazy amounts. £ 3,500 even in 1990 seems like a pittance. I was expecting hundreds of thousands of pounds or dollars. I see in 2015 a similar copy with a letter written in by JRR in "Elvish" sold for $200,000 USD.

[@lemmypop1300]

That's before the movies, and some time after JRR's death; I would say probably right in the middle of the period when interest for Tolkien's work was at an all time low. Now, don't get me wrong, the books were hugely popular ever since they were published, we are talking about a very slight dip in interest right before the big bang which are Jackson's movies.

[@Theomite]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking: that book's worth at least $250K at auction *opening bid.*

[@riquelmeone]

If you think of the interest in the writer, the stories, any sort of material related to the Lord of the Rings over time and add in the globalisation of money and wealth, looking back more than 30 years I think 3,500 is a very reasonable evaluation.

[@lunarsabbatical7906]

@@lemmypop1300 so true and it was only 53 years old which by literary standard probably wasn’t that old. Today it’s probably worth quite a bit more.

[@72442conv]

I would send here a check for $5000 right now for that book no questions asked. That book has to be over $100K at auction.

[@greg2462]

Remember this edition being in my local library in central California in the 1980s. Nobody thought anything of it. I remember reading it on location at one of the library tables as a child and falling in love with middle earth. Many other books as well.

[@gunsandgravy]

This was the edition in my elementary school library

[@penguinpie5056]

I received my uncle's first edition which was still immaculate when i was about 13.

[@philipgwyn8091]

I mean, this is the dust wrapper on the copy my parents have. I don't know if it's a corrected wrapper, though.

[@aerochicc]

Same here. First real book I read as a child from my school library back in the 70s. I have a reprint now.

[@dtreezy]

@@KaizenB LoTR is quasi Christian mythology and Tolkein was a devout Christian.

[@cristianromanoschi6963]

A first edition copy of J.R.R. tolkien's The Hobbit, given by J.R.R. Tolkien to one of his former students Katherine Kilbride in 1937, was sold at Sotheby's auction house in London for £137,000 (about $210,000)

[@NJerseyBoy]

That sounds more like it. The price quoted in this video immediately sounded like an incredible steal, even indexed for inflation.

[@wildfire160]

The price was way under valued for today as even a book without a letter or dust cover is valued around £20k with both it would be much higher...the copy that went for £137k was special as it was for Tolkien's first ever pupil and the letter with it was written in Elvish ... Saying that mind Simon Tolkien is also an important figure especially as he is now in charge of the Tolkien estate with Baille Tolkien...

[@diskoeric2248]

@@wildfire160 well, based on the hair styles, this was valued before the jackson movies were released.

[@dunebasher1971]

@@wildfire160 This clip is 32 years old, and as stated in the description, valuations were correct at the time of broadcast. The reason first editions are now worth so much more is that the Peter Jackson films created a renaissance of interest in Tolkien's work, especially in the USA. At the time this was broadcast, original Tolkien memorabilia was nowhere near as valuable as it is now.

[@wildfire160]

@@dunebasher1971 I think i said it was undervalued for today and have no issue with it being the price it was then

[@nonstickwater]

I would pay more for that. Great bit of literary history.

[@12345.......]

The book is now one of the most valuable Tolkien books ever.

[@Halbared]

@Dylan Powell Powell Ta for that!

[@weraswero]

@Dylan Powell Powell the 'Count'!

[@12345.......]

@Dylan Powell Powell it's on youtube. Arguably the best steel drum solo ever

[@kiltymacbagpipe]

I have one of those, might not be first edition but the same book except mine is glued into the the cover upside down.

[@stophavingkids9179]

I work at Donald Heald Rare Books & Fine art and I'd comfortably say that this book today would sell for well over $100,000 USD

[@jasonbates2687]

I read the Hobbit and the Rings trilogy back in the early 80s when I was in junior high and the cover still looked exactly like that.

[@steffenfrost995]

Antiques Roadshow (1990) for anyone that missed it. Please put year of broadcast in the description! ;)

[@n0body550]

It said at the top of the screen, you blind?

[@alexbinns4071]

I remember loaning out this edition from my local library in the early 90s. Very special book.

[@TheTruth01234]

Tolkiens illustrations were so imaginative and incredible. Couldn’t imagine owning a 1st edition.

[@TammyBundleballs]

Holly crap his writing is beautiful.

[@05Rudey]

Absolutely love the cover art.

[@theblackrose3130]

It was drawn by Tolkien which makes it even cooler

[@yourneighborhoodxenos]

They have released "new" hardback copies of this cover for a couple years now, at least in America. Would love to hold a First Edition--the new ones are definitely nice

[@viiIeiraS]

I bought a pocket version of this book with this cover at Germany in 2016, so they still make editions similar to this one

[@Nickgowans]

This would be worth waaaaaaaaay more than that today

[@ctubridy]

About $100k-150k in my estimation

[@gregolson3216]

@@ctubridy I would guess 15k at the most.

[@gregolson3216]

Oh, just found out it was filmed in 1990. Then in today's auction (2022), 30k sounds good to me. Ten times.

[@anonymousinternetuser7519]

​@@gregolson3216 £3,500 in 1980 adjusted for inflation is £14,900, and that's before the popularity of the films increasing their value.

[@zyiezyie]

@@ctubridy It was sold for £48,000 by Sotheby's in 2003. There are other copies of The Hobbit, LotR and other related books by Tolkien, that were given personally by Tolkien to family members, children who pushed him to write the Hobbit in the first place, as well as other notable people of the time that had a connection to Tolkien, that are in much better condition, that contains personal letters and/or notes by Tolkien, that has been sold fairly recently. None has fetched more than ~£100-£150,000. So, this copy, that's in worse condition, and isn't as "special" as some of the other books that's been sold recently, means it would have to be worth less than that. Realistically, it's probably valued closer to £70-90,000 today.

[@wadefite]

It is definitely precious.

[@pechaa]

I see what you did there.

[@theevilascotcompany9255]

It's been called that before, but not by you.

[@oriantalist]

Keep it secret. Keep it safe.

[@sdh41]

The appraiser is wearing that book out flipping back and forth through it.

[@stevenlawrence278]

It mentions in the description that Hugh Scully was the presenter. Hugh's spell as presenter ran from 1981 to 2000, so the clip is between 22 and 41 years old. So, yes, it would be worth a great deal more now, as long as the dust jacket has not got a lot worse.

[@jefflast5071]

Yes, the video shows it as 1990 in the top right corner for the first 10 seconds or so.

[@rosstee]

@@jefflast5071 And in the description.

[@ButterBallTheOpossum]

Look how amazing his handwriting is. Holy crap

[@marie-josetimperley3825]

I am a little surprised the appraiser didn’t wear gloves to inspect this beautiful heirloom

[@Robinwithoutahood]

Gloves are have now been shown to actually do more harm than good when handling old books, despite what I was taught in University!

[@Andrew-ys9vb]

My primary school had this in there library! I borrowed it and took it home to read many times

[@FatherMcKenzie66]

i love these videos so much

[@olsim1730]

Wow! I have one of these somewhere in a box(unpacked since moving)! Will have to check which edition but it appears identical!

[@RudyBleeker]

Let us know what you find please!

[@user-nt1yb5kr8x]

Did you find it? :)

[@rainsunbow8668]

Yeah let us know!

[@pelnarius2446]

My parents had one of these copies. We had a dog that ate it in 2003. My dad was so devastated.

[@yourneighborhoodxenos]

By dog at the school library's copy of The Two Towers 💀

[@mickymickymike4105]

Would have left that damn dog in front of a Chinese restaurant. Lol

[@anthonylambert4523]

That is the version (cover and book) that I read back in school in the 70's.Even though that wouldn't have been a first printing I bet it would be worth a few quid these days !!

[@Garethprice1979]

You just know that 'First Edition Freak' is on the appraisers bio.

[@stevelibby6852]

This is 30 years old, you can say with certainty that it is worth many times that today. The letter alone would be 3500.

[@zybch]

Less now that Amazon has utterly destroyed any love so many people have for the world and characters Prof. Tolkien created.

[@hawkname1234]

@@zybch What an utterly foolish and untrue thing to say, and what a small man you are for trying to tear down the storytelling and artwork of other people.

[@lemmypop1300]

@@hawkname1234 Show is objectively bad. I don't think he's right about it damaging Tolkien's legacy, but if left to to continue in a same fashion it may as well do so. His opinion is a valid one, and he has every right to express it. 'Tearing down the storytelling and artwork of other people' - I think that show's authors did a pretty good job of destroying it themselves.

[@TheMrBigBadBrad]

@@zybch if a bad TV show has "utterly destroyed any love" people have for Tolkiens works then I'm afraid they never really loved them to being with.

[@stevelibby6852]

@@zybch First editions are currently being marketed in the six figures--which does not mean people are paying that necessarily.

[@altohippiegabber]

I can't be the only one who expected the amount to be much much higher

[@PianoMelodicaDark]

today, yes definitely; at the time this episode was taken, in 1990... who in heaven's name knew? 😀

[@rosswhitehill3207]

Look them up now they are around 30grand

[@WhoIsCalli]

Simply astonishing

[@da1otta]

It is indeed a most exquisite piece. I was somewhat underwhelmed by the price, though.

[@RhetoricalMuse]

Add inflation to it and the effect of the Jackson movies. Now it would be worth much much more.

[@kore5080]

I think this was first broadcast in the late 80s or early 90s.

[@h91rex100]

@@kore5080 the first 10 secs in the upper right corner says 1990

[@xander1052]

Would be close to £8000 that price these days, even before you take into account 32 years of books of this quality becoming even rarer.

[@atourdeforce]

@@xander1052 You're having a laugh, I'd say you wouldn't be able to buy it with 10 million nowadays.

[@pgr3290]

The question is really was it kept until after 2001? Because as we all know despite there being strong interest in 1990 for this book, after 2001 interest in Tolkien works surged. The value would have skyrocketed even further. It would have probably been worth in excess of £10k just over ten years later. In 2008 an excellent first edition sold for £50k.

[@thosearentpillows5638]

Amazing penmanship.

[@sonsofthewestredwhiteblue5317]

I yelled out “two hundred grand”, just as the guy says “three and a half thousand.”

[@Shlogger]

this was the version I first read when I was a kid. borrowed from my school library.

[@Imfromspacehi]

That thing is straight out of the shire! Imagine being related to JRR Tolkien holy wow

[@Ineluki_Myonrashi]

Remember this was also 30+ years ago...guarantee it's worth a LOT more now.

[@CaptWesStarwind]

I think the fact that this was a copy given to his grandson would add a fair bit to its value.

[@Wiesman1000]

Yeah, condition aside, this book is directly tied to the Tolkien estate's history, and has added value.

[@Pandabee11]

We wants it, my precious.

[@DackxJaniels]

The man could write, I'll give him that.

[@DrHogfather]

I was expecting a much bigger number.

[@SkopZ-]

This was in 1990, before the films, I would imagine current day valuation would be much much higher.

[@DrHogfather]

@@SkopZ- That makes a lot more sense. I just woke up and the whole time I was like "these folks look old timey for 2022"

[@SkopZ-]

@@DrHogfather 😂

[@Radicalweegee]

@@DrHogfather Ya know , im old enough to remember the 4 by 3 aspect ratio very well. but why wasnt it the first thing i noticed when looking at the video... i really thought this was new ish and these folk at the road show were dressed very casually! , maybe its time i make a coffee xD

[@DrHogfather]

@@Radicalweegee We must be similarly aged, I had two just to be safe.

[@JasonNCSU2007]

Nice, that’s the exact edition my dad passed down to me, but in much better condition than the one in the video.

[@dezznutz3743]

Is it signed by Tolkien?

[@geekstradamus1548]

Peter Sarpy Elementary School had one - this is the copy I read. 10/10 wish I’d stolen it.

[@Fiasco3]

Damn that's the exact copy I read as a kid. I remember that simple blue/green cover.

[@mournblade1066]

The cover was pretty much identical throughout its entire print run through the 1980s.

[@LetterSignedBy51SpiesWasA-Coup]

Look how easily I can pull this tape off

[@gozer33]

Love how dryly he refers to the "dust jacket freaks", lol

[@Janos23]

My first ever edition of the Hobbit was that particular edition. Not first edition, bought with saved up allowance from a local Borders, but the same cover etc. I think it disintegrated from repeated re-readings when I was a teenager...

[@mickymickymike4105]

This is a family heirloom. It is priceless and should be kept within the family. If Simon Tolkien is Jrr Tolkien’s grandson, then I’m sure he is a millionaire. They are well off in the family and don’t need to sell a book like that. That book is something you pass to your children, grandchildren, etc.

[@marcusang5404]

This was my thinking too, the book is very valuable no doubt but immediate family of Tolkien is definitely worth more

[@tootz1950]

How do you know how his assets were divided up? Have you read his will?

[@williamstdog9]

Totally agreed!!! 👍👌 Maybe it still is in the family?

[@davidioanhedges]

Simon is a writer and barrister - He consulted on the Lord of The Rings Movies and The Rings of Power

[@bobpourri9647]

I always figure that somewhere down the line some family member is going to cash it in anyway....so it might as well be me. I don't believe in heirlooms: They are just a burden that some day will go away deliberately or by accident.

[@mikebeatstsb7030]

First edition freaks!

[@chuckfinn]

Man it looks like the old copy I’ve got at home I’ll have to check mine out

[@francishunt562]

We had that version in my school library : first time I read any Tolkien. Think it was early 1970s.

[@KillerBebe]

To me she sounded disappointed.

[@Bootrosgali]

When you hear she's wife of grandson it's dah like, what a discovery

[@MerkinMuffly]

It's worth a heckuva lot more than that now

[@georgebrown2175]

The black forest and the bear. AWESOME!

[@geeky_gunner]

Can only imagine what this worth today.

[@garethmaybury5218]

I was massively underwhelmed when he said £3.5k.

[@taylorh.6477]

@Aunchient Pistol It's a book of a type that maybe 1 or 2 even exist. Its incredibly rare and with the massive fandom of LOTR and The Hobbit series this book would be tens of thousands today.

[@jacobb5625]

surely there are people capable and willing of spending millions on it

[@shadowfox009x]

@Aunchient Pistol A First Edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice once sold for $100.000.

[@hawky225]

One sold at auction in 2015 for £137,000, also with the corrected dust cover and personalized inscription.

[@kek23k]

Anyone else feeling anxious by the way he just flicked the book open, after commenting on the condition of the spine?

[@mournblade1066]

As a collector of first edition books myself, I was horrified at how he handled that book. Dude is obviously NOT a rare books expert.

[@kek23k]

@@mournblade1066 right!

[@mournblade1066]

@@kek23k I was equally horrified that the dust jacket wasn't protected in a mylar cover. It's not like they didn't exist in 1990. In fact, I bought my FIRST first edition book in 1988 (the end of my senior year in high school), and my high school librarian graciously put the dust wrapper in a protective cover for me.

[@kek23k]

@@mournblade1066 he's not even wearing gloves and then has the cheek to complain about the cellotape!

[@OscyJack-]

It was here the grandson realized how well he could capitalize on Tolkien's hard work.

[@dezznutz3743]

He already had. He sent his wife to go on a TV show to have it appraised. At minimum this would generate some interest in the books and cartoon movies, at most, sell it, which I heard he did.

[@ryancruz1876]

Tolkien wanted his family to benefit financially from his work after he passed away.

[@doncristobalaspee5925]

I couldn't finish watching because the way he was handling the book was doing my head in.

[@storyteller2882]

The real question is was this a first edition with the original version where Gollum gave up the ring willingly? That would raise the value by a lot, I'd imagine.

[@Pandaemoni]

If it is a 1937 edition, then it is. The book (in the Chapter Riddles inthe Dark) was only revised to make Gollum villainous in 1951.

[@resurection96]

woooooooooooooooooow i never knew this😳😳😳

[@resurection96]

@@Pandaemoni love learning something new😎 someone must of came in and said, someone needs to be the bad guy, and someone needs to be the super villian

[@EpimethiusPSN]

@@resurection96 Yea, I never knew Gollum gave the ring back. In 1980? my friend had a paperback with this cover for the Hobbit. He loaned it to me overnight. I bought my own pb copies of it and Lord Of The Rings as soon as I could after that one night of reading.

[@Pandaemoni]

@@resurection96 Yeah, in the original, Gollum plays the Riddle Game agrees that if he loses, he'll give the ring to Bilbo as a gift. He does lose and then could not find the ring, because Bilbo had it. So, Gollum apologizes then shows Bilbo the way out of the caves. In LotR, Gandalf mentions this, suggesting this was a lie Bilbo told to make it seem as if he was the rightful owner of the ring, and that the second version, where Gollum was going to kill Frodo after losing, reflected reality.

[@leozmaxwelljilliumz3360]

Absolutely should not be sold, ever. That's a gift from family to family.

[@fuzzzone]

And yet they sold it in 2003. Simon is not a fan of fantasy.

[@ymmv99]

@@fuzzzone I bet he likes money much more than the idea of meticulously preserving the legacy of his grandfather.

[@brunomarques7713]

Simon Tolkien is a sell out. You can thank him for RoP...

[@tonyborelli.]

i went to an ARS event at a university in NC that was books only. the biggest score was a large Kama Sutra that was brung to USA from some war in Asia

[@akderekx]

Just finished the book finally. It was great just like the movie

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

I would have expected Tolkien to leave more books than just one copy of the Hobbit to his own grandson. It is awesome though.

[@dunebasher1971]

Given what she said, Tolkien himself didn't leave it to his grandson, it was selected for his grandson by whoever was in charge of breaking up the library after Tolkien's death.

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

@@dunebasher1971 but still... Didn't he have a will?

[@faithlesshound5621]

@@dickJohnsonpeter It would be a lot of hard work at the end of your life (if you even know how soon that will be) to divide up your loot among hungry descendants. That's the job of the executors.

[@JGunit]

If that letter hadn't been "sticky taped" to the book, I'm about 99% sure it would be gone by now. I like it, and I think it adds authenticity to the book. The hell with what he says

[@Johnny-Joseph]

"First edition Freaks" - love it

[@chattykathie7129]

I love her dress. I had a corduroy ❤April Cornell one like it.

[@howardtownsend3139]

Take it to the USA with plenty of forward social media postings beforehand and you will get 1+ Million dollars at auction!

[@dickJohnsonpeter]

I just realized this video was from 1990, a decade before the movies of course well before social media. Yea it probably would be worth over a million now to the right collector and with hype generated for the sale.

[@kennethfharkin]

Her husband, Simon Tolkien, is the monster behind the Amazon series Rings of Power. With the films his estranged father, Christopher Tolkien, kept the family out of the entire process. He did not want anyone claiming a film adaptation was made with the Tolkien family approval, blessing, etc. and therefore was somehow the "official" interpretation of his father's work. Christopher Tolkien carefully compiled his father's notes and works as well as made enormous contributions to the world of Middle Earth always maintaining the highest reverence for the work of his father and what had been created. Simon Tolkien was a barrister who tried to be an author and went nowhere. He butted heads with his father for years and wanted the estate to have a direct role with the films which came out. He also is signed on as a consultant for Rings of Power which does nothing but warp Tolkien's work into something unrecognizable but Simon finally after decades claims he got to do something...

[@2manameturfilms13]

The show has been good so far imo.

[@kennethfharkin]

@@2manameturfilms13 Sure, warrior princess Galadriel is just like Tolkien wrote her...

[@brunomarques7713]

​@@2manameturfilms13 The show being good, and the show being faithful to the books are 2 different things. It might be good, I won't argue, but it is not a good representation of the time period it covers in the books.

[@2manameturfilms13]

@@brunomarques7713 How does it differ from the lore? Genuinely curious. I haven't looked into the main differences much yet.

[@brunomarques7713]

@@2manameturfilms13 on the RoP sub reddit some one compiled all that happens in the show by episode and rated from accurate to lore breaking. If you are curious you can head over and read it yourself, there's a lot.

[@AchtungEnglander]

"To my dearest Jane The Sea is always right Your loving nephew - Ronald"

[@CoIoneIPanic]

I mean that guy is rather large for a hobbit but his ginormous furry toes under the table at 6:14 give him away.

[@Prisonerthirt33n]

My heart jumped for a second, I have the same book but in paperback with same cover design 😄

[@desireeholloway3353]

If you sell it let us know the value in 2022!

[@OaksArmorial]

Isn’t Simon Tolkein the wretched Philistine who’s partly responsible for ‘Rings of Power’?

[@zedas1]

Yep, the hack himself.

[@beecee2205]

@@zedas1 Simon was only copying his hack grandfather by selling stuff.

[@dezznutz3743]

Yup. From what I heard he did sell this book.

[@ryancruz1876]

🤦. Man you New Line fan boys are the absolute worst.

[@OaksArmorial]

@@ryancruz1876 Are you referring to me as a ‘New Line fan boy’? If so, you couldn’t be further off the mark.

[@Dab980]

Had a similar one years ago but not original...good to see that cover again

[@CC-gv6us]

Already trying to pawn off priceless family items in 1990. Little surprise her husband is a ROP consultant.

[@samuelthorley9547]

He's complaining about someone taping the letter and it turns out it was probably J R R as it came from his personal library

[@hd-xc2lz]

Or the aunt.

[@peterhineinlegen4672]

I was looking for someone else to think of that. It probably would _raise_ the value. This is a rare exception though.

[@OaksArmorial]

I know, right? What a dope.

[@Dukie_2]

It’s harmful for the paper. (Archivist here.) Tolkien taping it himself wouldn’t raise the value any more than him simply inserting it in the pages.

[@leespiderpod]

Surely he shouldn’t of peeled the sellotape back

[@chriswright4677]

She thought it’d be much more! Classic.

[@bendornan8873]

In 1990 - 11 years before the first of the Rings films. Same book in same condition now would be around $100K no problem.

[@robbie3828]

@@bendornan8873no it wouldn’t hahahaha

[@TheErockaustin]

@@robbie3828 There are currently two first-print, first-edition copies of the Hobbit for sale at a rare book auction site. One is priced at $225k and the other at $475k

[@robbie3828]

@@TheErockaustin in the same condition as this?

[@Cssfiend]

@@TheErockaustin You can't trust online book auctions, there are a lot of chancers out there, I would be typing this comment from a yacht in the bahamas if it was realistic to expect those prices, and I'm not.

[@AbduCola]

It's probably worth tens of thousands now not only because it's even older but the movies. I can't even imagine

[@theodoremason6344]

Jane has been looking for this the past 30 years.

[@cmck1777]

Simon Tolkien. I’m sure it’s elsewhere in the comments but, for anyone who doesn’t know, Simon didn’t care for fantasy at all and is interested in making as much money as possible from the Tolkien estate. It’s a position that many fans of the series dislike but it’s equally possible that shows a lack of empathy on their part. He’s a novelist in his own right that writes, I believe, crime fiction.

[@alexdaland]

Imagine being born, wanting to become a writer, but your grandfather was Bukowski, and that is also why people know who YOU are.... that's an uphill battle

[@stevebrickshitta870]

Imagine hating the legacy, but then using and trading on that legacy to make a similar living. Gross hypocrisy.

[@cmck1777]

I’m not sure if it’s hypocritical exactly? Hypocrisy is saying one thing and doing another. If you see no value in something but others are willing to buy it, that’s not hypocrisy. It’s actually a fundamental part of the modern economy with things like Facebook, AirBnB and other startups finding value in things you don’t think of as valuable. Intangible assets. If your grandpa wrote a book you didn’t like, I think it’s worth seeing if other people liked it. Now, this is - obviously - a bit different and its easy to view Simon with cynicism. But I think that’s an immature and unempathetic way to look at it. We all like having cash; we’d all sell the crap in our attic to make it, if we didn’t want it ourselves.

[@stevebrickshitta870]

@@cmck1777 it really hasn't got anything to do with cash, it's simply biting the hand that feeds. He'd be a no-name nothing without the literary leg up he was born with. I know, I've read one of his books, and I see others buy and read on the same basis. I've looked at his others, and If he really wanted to achieve on his own merits, he could change his name and see how that worked out. It reminds my of that former parasite prince complaining about what a tough life he's had.

[@cmck1777]

@@stevebrickshitta870 What would you do in his position, honestly? Is it the smart thing to do to not make the most of your situation? I'm not sure it is. I understand your feelings, but to be honest, I'm not sure if integrity or pride of that kind are anything other than leftovers of a Hindu/Abrahamic ethics designed to prevent social mobility and enshrine the caste/lineage systems that have in turn created classism in today's secular world. Just saying.

[@seashoree1]

"The book and letter were sold at Sotheby's English Literature, History, Fine Bindings, Private Press Books, Children's Books, Illustrated Books and Drawings on the 10th July 2003" 469 (pp.294-5) - This lot consists of a First Edition copy of The Hobbit inscribed to Tolkien's aunt Jane Neave, together with a one page letter dated 22 September 1937. The lot description includes a few short quotes from the letter and the opening is reproduced in a photograph. It sold for £48,000." £89,693.07 or $110,858.71 USD in 2022

[@Epic_Kingdom]

This is so cool!

[@FamiliarEvils]

I'd have to step away from the book if someone somehow got this for me lest I get it wet from the sobbing. I used to work for a used book store, and I'd occasionally look up first addition copies of The Hobbit so I could daydream of affording one. My favorite book ever.

[@TyyTheFlyGuy]

I’ve come across and acquired first edition First and second Shannara books and bought them while thrifting years ago before people searched the value of everything online. Paid like a buck for one and a few cents for another, separate occasions. But yeah nearly had a heart attack when I saw them and confirmed what they where upon opening them.

[@RyanKudasik]

My wife sold one at the thrift store she works at for $1 and didn't realize her error until afterwards.

[@eph_kni]

i read a first edition version from my elementary school. i read it so often that the librarian gave it to me. And one day, i left it on the bus on the way to JC. i was heart broken at the realization that i left my tattered companion to the hands of a stranger.

[@johnmarshall6702]

Perhaps like the Ring, it "wants to be found". You had carried it quite long enough. Perhaps it was time to be in the hands of someone new who will appreciate it as greatly as you did.

[@JLee-rt6ve]

It saw its chance and left you to try to reunite with its evil master. Now Booko Baggins will have to cart it off to Mount Doom.

[@mournblade1066]

You had a first edition of The Hobbit? I highly doubt that.

[@them4309]

Thank goodness he was there to tell her when to stop thinking.

[@michaelmcnulty8785]

I’m pretty sure I have this edition. It was my dads and grandfathers. It doesn’t have the dust cover though.

[@cjod33]

Well I'll be buggered, I've got a first edition with a dust cover in near perfect condition. I'll have to check for correction.

[@JA51711]

First edition in America appraise d sky's the limit close to 6 figures

[@BornAgainCynic0086]

Good luck!

[@atomsmurf]

Did you find it?

[@princessfartsparkles6681]

I have one of those. An old family friend was friends with Christopher Tolkien.

[@danopticon]

Well cripes, I think I have this edition. I hope I kept it. I grew up in 1970s Latin America surrounded by a British/U.S./Dutch expat community which had been there since the 1950s, and as they returned home and tried to lighten their shipping costs, they’d leave their extra things at our church and I’d take the funnest things home. Now 50 years later some of that stuff is worth money! Sadly, I eventually had to lighten my own moving costs, plus I had a fire, plus sticky-fingered roommates have made off with my things … so who knows what I’ve got left. 😢

[@scottyk200]

Thought he was a bit rough with the dust wrapper.

[@portcullis5622]

I thought the same. It looks pretty fragile and original dustrwrappers make a huge difference to the value of old books. I know this is over 30 years ago, but I do hope she got a clear plastic cover to protect it.

[@grumgrum2174]

Would be nearer £100k in 2022

[@mulemule]

Much higher ...

[@dpmakestuff]

You can see she was hoping for more 🤣

[@fuzzzone]

Not to worry. She and Simon sold that copy with the letter at Sotheby's in 2003 for £48,000.