"Left on a Bookshelf, Sold for 90 Million KRW"...Rare First Edition with Only 1,500 Copies in the World

First Edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit"
Exceptional Condition Drives Up Auction Price

A first edition of The Hobbit was discovered in a British home and sold at auction for approximately 90 million KRW.

Old book. Getty Images Bank

On August 7 (local time), the Daily Mail reported that a first edition of The Hobbit, published by J.R.R Tolkien in 1937, was found in a British household. Only 1,500 copies of this rare edition were printed worldwide.

This first edition was discovered in a house in Bristol. While clearing out the property, the book was found inside a bookshelf. Although it was covered in dust at the time, auction house Auctionium appraised it and described it as "in remarkably well-preserved condition and a rare edition that has never appeared on the market."

First edition of J.R.R Tolkien's The Hobbit sold for approximately 90 million KRW. Daily Mail

Generally, first editions in circulation are traded in damaged or worn condition, but this copy, despite lacking a dust jacket, was described as "in such excellent condition that it appears to have rarely been read." Caitlin Riley, an appraiser at Auctionium, compared it to "a book frozen in time, untouched by anyone."

The initial auction estimate was set at 10,000 pounds (about 17.3 million KRW), but due to enthusiastic bidding from collectors, the final sale price soared to 52,000 pounds (about 90 million KRW, including fees), more than five times the expected amount. This surpassed the previous record for a first edition of the same book, which was 19,000 pounds (about 33 million KRW). Auctionium explained, "Given the historical and literary value of this book, the final price is not surprising."

The auctioned book includes illustrations drawn by Tolkien himself and a map of Middle-earth with Germanic annotations, further increasing its value as a collectible. The Hobbit, published before The Lord of the Rings, is one of Tolkien's most renowned works. It is based on legends passed down among the people of ancient Northern Europe and tells the fantasy adventure of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who embarks on a quest for treasure. The novel has sold over 100 million copies worldwide and is considered one of the most influential works in 20th-century English literature.

Previously, in 2015, a first edition of The Hobbit containing Tolkien's handwritten notes was sold for 137,000 pounds (about 237 million KRW at the time). This copy was dedicated by Tolkien to his student, Katherine Kilbride.