Incredibly Rare First Edition Copy Of The Hobbit! | Antiques Roadshow

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All valuations were correct at the time of broadcast. Could this first edition copy of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit, published in 1937, be worth more than all the gold in the Lonely Mountain? Hugh Scully and the experts from Antiques Roadshow take a look at some fantastic antiques and the history and stories surrounding them. This clip was filmed in Islington in 1990.
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Опубликовано:

27 апр 2023

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Комментарии : 525

@BBCAntiquesRoadshow Год назад

You shall not pass... Without subscribing: ru-vid.com/show-UCAts6tUdnEQIWZ8EAdVBDKA

@garrym5682 Год назад

Wait, what? “Look at this incredibly rare book - how could you ever have come into possession of this, Mrs Tolkien?”

@millsathn 11 месяцев назад

Hahaha 😂

@MrCraigReynolds Год назад

This book has become precious to me, I will see no harm come to it

@peterlarkin762 Год назад

Protect the precioussss!

@vincentmckenna1755 Год назад

Oh it's your PRECIOUS

@stevendebettencourt7651 Год назад

@@peterlarkin762 “Precious?” It’s been called that before, but not by you.

@woverby1963 Год назад

Love it!

@BoiledOctopus Год назад

@@stevendebettencourt7651 😆😆

@56squadron Год назад

What struck me was how beautiful his handwriting was, and while it shouldn't be a surprise, how closely it resembled the rune type things he did when writing the books. It takes either great care or a studied hand to have handwriting that extraordinary.

@yeahyeah5976 Год назад

Sure it’s iconic, but he would have been a writer in his mid-40’s when he penned that letter. It’d be remarkable if a writer had poor handwriting after a lifetime of strict training with ink wells.

@jama211 Год назад

@@yeahyeah5976 Ohh phooey there were loads of people with bad handwriting. His style is beautiful and it was surely rare even then.

@jameshoffa7085 Год назад

shut up

@happzy Год назад

His writing style is actually exactly how they write in the movies, I mean same font

@johnr797 Год назад

Well handwriting was a serious school subject at upper class schools back when he was a child

@dschonsie Год назад

more than 30 years and several very successful movies later you can easily add a bunch of zeros to the value

@TheChzoronzon Год назад

Maybe a couple, but no more. 210K were paid in 2015 for one like that, with a handwritten letter in Elvish from J. R

@6thface Год назад

Sorry, people just do not read anymore. Prices for collectible books continues to plummet.

@jelio123456 Год назад

With so much inflation / money printing recently, im sure its worth more.

@pesmerga182 Год назад

Very successful movies and not so successful TV series

@mulemule Год назад

@@6thface "Plummet?" Incorrect (and in most cases, quite the opposite).

@jacobnatal5951 Год назад

That book with the personal letter from Tolkien and orginal dust cover sold for (💷137,000.00) in 2015. Thats USD $210,000.00 in 2015. Today in USD that be $267,430.44 & in UK (💷211,683.50).

@SoSo-li6dn Год назад

id like to read it in the bath while drinking coffee and spilling coffee on it - yeah, that what id do if i had that sort of money,

@grantross2609 Год назад

@@SoSo-li6dn because of the sheer rarity/provenance of the thing it likely wouldn't matter too much if you further soiled it tho...... never cared for Tolkien too much myself !

@enmunate Год назад

Best I could give is 3,500

@mulemule Год назад

@@enmunate *Rick lives!* ♟⭐⭐⭐

@Soldier4USA2005 Год назад

That handwriting in the note is absolutely beautiful......from a time where people still took the time to do things properly and with great care.

@joe12321 Год назад

If you buy JRR Tolkien's letters from Father Christmas, it's full of his handwriting and drawing!

@mulemule Год назад

It also doesn't hurt to be an expert in calligraphy as Tolkien was.

@apeekintime Год назад

OR simply from a time when you had to handwrite. My handwriting before phones was pretty bad but it was legible. Now it's about 50/50 if I can even decipher notes I take during a conference call.

@tmarritt Год назад

You don't remember when doctors had to write things do you?

@bonchbonch Год назад

At any given point in history, there have always been people claiming that the previous generations did things better!

@dracos24 Год назад

Could you imagine being the great-grandchild of Tolkien and your parents sold this instead of treating it as a family heirloom ?

@mr.doctorcaptain1124 Год назад

I’d be furious. If I had this, you couldn’t buy it from me for anything shy of enough money to set myself and my children up for the rest of our lives. If we already had that wealth, there is no sum of money on earth that would get me to part with it.

@niveous5392 Год назад

It happens very often, and this is a pretty good case of why it's such a terrible thing. You see this a lot on shows like Pawn Stars too, and it's even worse in that case because they're clearly scamming you and you can't even bother to get a real price for whatever it is. Anything to make a quick buck or two I guess.

@201hastings Год назад

Some people prefer the money over the book. Maybe they need it. You’re making an ignorant assumption

@pepperypeppers2755 Год назад

Remind me, antiques roadshow appraises antiques, correct? So there is no obligation to sell. It's fun knowing you have a valuable heirloom, doesn't imply she ever sold it. Could have just come on the show for the experience, or to appraise its insurance value.

@antipattern0 Год назад

Simon has always been jealous of his grandfather.

@cchavezjr7 Год назад

She says her husband is Tolkien's grandson and he just ignores her completely...wow.

@darthmarticusLFC Год назад

I’ve seen this clip before, it’s weird how it just avoids all context of that.

@cchavezjr7 Год назад

@darthmarticusLFC yup. I remembered pretty early on I've seen it before and the whole provenance was just thrown out the door.

@UncleRichard. Год назад

its probably "not good for tv" to say, oh my husband is his grandson and they just gave him this book while they were throwing things out. they want to hear, you found it in a dumpster type of stuff. Nobody cares when rich families have rich things.

@joshlewis575 Год назад

@cchavezjr7 that's what I was thinking, u have a hand written letter from the man himself included with the 1st edition. Hope she didn't sell, it's worth way more than that fella was thinking. Even back then

@Finians_Mancave Год назад

His non-reaction suggests that this was all set up beforehand between the Tolkien family and the AR producers. You see this all the time with so-called "reality" shows. Some of the most obvious (ridiculous) non-reactions happen on the Pawn Stars show when unbelievably rare and expensive items are inexplicably brought into their Las Vegas pawn shop instead of say, a high-end auction house (like Sotheby's, etc).

@minimoog4236 Год назад

You'd have thought that "my husband is JRR"s grandson" would have merited at least an "Oh...okay" but nope, no comment whatsoever. Funny as.

@mulemule Год назад

Right?! (A true Brit!)

@telbel4979 Год назад

Wow! That valuation was....a huge anticlimax! I thought he was going to say £100,000. That letter might have been sellotaped in by JRR himself.

@DaveBartlett Год назад

The expression on her face was more one of slight disappointment than of joyful surprise. I think she was expecting more.

@iwonder1216 Год назад

This was in the 90’s. First editions sell for $500 000 now. This one probably more

@MrCovi2955 Год назад

@@iwonder1216 Not to mention the popularity of the IP itself has massively increased thanks to 2 very successful trilogies and the Amazon flop that got people interested in the Silmarillion.

@mulemule Год назад

Adjusted for inflation, £3,500 British pounds in 1990 was worth £8,145 pounds or $14,500.00 USD ... a high price even then.

@snowboardfamilyof4 Год назад

I didn't realize they were going to use monopoly money instead of real money to quote her. kinda messed up if you ask me.

@vp_wrld Год назад

I was expecting a much higher price but I guess you gotta remember the time period this was filmed in

@firefenixful Год назад

true, the movies didnt exist, only nerds knew this shit

@lilitharam44 Год назад

Since this clip was filmed, I wonder how much it's value has gone up? Beautiful book, love to have it.

@joshlewis575 Год назад

He said it was worth 3000ish. For sure it's at least 10x that. With a hand written note from Tolkien himself, probably ever more.

@Brinta3 Год назад

*its value

@msresu Год назад

@@joshlewis575 same was sold on auction for $210,500 without letter from Tolkien

@Jorg05111980 Год назад

@@msresu Same condition?

@donsolos Год назад

@@msresu and the letter is the most valuable part of it

@larrykuenning5754 Год назад

"Aunt Jane" seems likely to be Jane Neave. There are several letters to her in _The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien_. It was at her suggestion (made in 1961) that he published the collection of poems called _The Adventures of Tom Bombadil_.

@mulemule Год назад

Great catch! 🙌

@AndyZach Год назад

Thanks Auntie Jane for the idea!

@prubly68 Год назад

My favorite book of all time! I would love to own that copy!

@kandykush4204 Год назад

I had the same version as a kid around 35 years ago… I doubt it was 1st edition but it looked exactly the same!

@john_Doe6578 Год назад

#howcanimakethisaboutme

@ObsessedCollector Год назад

Probably a facimile anniversary edition

@bonchbonch Год назад

@@john_Doe6578 How dare people have a conversation about a topic they share interest in. Better to stay terminally online.

@fatbeachvanm9693 Год назад

@@john_Doe6578 ur a loser bro hahaa'

@12345....... Год назад

@@john_Doe6578 Are you looking for attention? Go back in corner, the adults are talking.

@NR-rv8rz Год назад

Read it around 1979/80 at age 15 when my English teacher recommended it and I'd never heard of it until then. Then I devoured TLOTR. Then sat in front of the radio every Sunday lunchtime for 6 months listening to the BBC radio play of TLOTR with Ian Holm playing Frodo. Longed for a movie version and a short time later, the animated TLOTR movie was released. It was an amazing time and age to discover the books. Then another twenty years before the movie trilogy kicked off. Let's not talk about the Amazon series.

@katelights 6 месяцев назад

and then Ian Holm went on to play Bilbo in the movies :D

@jeremypearson6852 Год назад

I suspect the value of that book has somewhat increased since a new generation has been introduced to Tolkien.

@celebrim1 Год назад

First editions now go for 100 times that price.

@CallardAndBowser Год назад

I would think that particular book would fetch near a million dollars today in 2023.

@joncarroll2040 Год назад

@@DanielJones-xj9nt plus the provenance of being a copy that belongs to Tolkien's grandson probably increases the value somewhat.

@petert1692 Год назад

No, the condition is fair to poor. If it was in better condition and the dust jacket was in better condition, perhaps. Value now at about $75K.

@geoffos42 Год назад

@@petert1692 See below comment from Jacob Natal: "That book with the personal letter from Tolkien and orginal dust cover sold for (£137,000.00) in 2015. Thats USD $210,000.00 in 2015. Today in USD that be $267,430.44 & in UK (£211,683.50)."

@pnotuner1 Год назад

You can't expect it to be pristine once it has been There and Back Again

@mrpzpdx Год назад

Right?!!

@OddWoz Год назад

How this isn’t more valuable with the provenance and everything astounds me. What a steal at a few thousand.

@bonscott6353 Год назад

So you could say its precious

@RGRGJKK Год назад

Pura vida guys great book with family history I have one the first edition of the Hobbit but in Spanish edition from 90's 😅🎉❤

@JordanBeagle 10 месяцев назад

A couple years ago I bought a copy of the 1937 Facsimile Edition from Indigo and I'm glad it looks like they did a good job reproducing it, including the jacket and little maps and graphics inside

@wishingonthemoon1 Год назад

I can’t imagine how much it would go for now!

@rachelcookie321 Год назад

That cover design is so pretty compared to some of the more recent covers.

@pretty-white-lamb Год назад

Tolkien's handwriting is beautiful.

@Kratos-005 9 месяцев назад

Have you seen his Elvish language handwriting? It’s so beautiful looking.

@martineldritch Год назад

And here I was all happy with my 1982 Ballantine paperback when I came across this video.

@NH365 Год назад

My 4th grade teacher read us that book a few dozen pages at a time.

@chad0x Год назад

Incredible

@bonwatcher Год назад

That valuation had the impact of an Austin Powers movie when Dr. Evil asks for a ransom of one million dollars in today's money. I am sure thirty+ years and a few Tolkien movies later that the valuation has gone up a little bit.

@jbradshaw4236 Год назад

Wonderful book

@farrd14 11 месяцев назад

I borrowed that same edition from a public library in Malta some 35 years ago! Anyway now I am proud owner of 1st edition Silmarillion, typos and all.

@scottnunnemaker5209 Год назад

We had one of these as a kid, I think it came from a grandparent or great grandparent who passed away, pretty sure we colored on the pages when left unsupervised.

@kegginstructure Год назад

It is interesting that the Tolkien letter was in a cursive hand-lettered script that resembles the cursive letters in the books.

@AndyZach Год назад

I believe Tolkien did the cursive letters in the books.

@random22026 Год назад

He took great care in every detail. 😌😌

@SpiritualSoulSurfer Год назад

I tried to sell a Lord of the Rings book to a Bangkok book trader in 2001 before the movies came out. He wouldn't take it because he looked at when it was published and it was too old! 🤣🤣🤣

@arzabael Год назад

Holy shit. The hand writing.

@mh8889 11 месяцев назад

My husband is Tolkien’s grandson “Yes but he hasn’t used a dust wrapper I’m afraid” Okay………….

@robertrostad3930 Год назад

That’s the copy I read in 1988! Elementary school library, dust-jacket intact.

@1nePercentJuice 11 месяцев назад

3.5k is a steal. I hope she held onto it, thought I imagine she's likely to have benefited immensely from the future movies/show.

@tothelighthouse9843 7 дней назад

People need to understand the context here. This was filmed in 1990, before the LOTR films & before Tolkien became a worldwide phenomenon. In 1990 Tolkien was a mildly respected writer with a dedicated cult following--this lady-relative is likely genuine in wondering what the first edition was worth, & 3500 pounds is a reasonable valuation. Cut to a decade ago, post-films, post-Tolkien-mania, & a first edition in excellent condition sold for almost 150,000 pounds. The valuation for the first edition in this video would be off the charts today.

@JayBigDadyCy Год назад

I can't even imagine what that book would go for now after all the movies and likely ne wealthy collectors. Stuff like that has to be very, very rare. Probably looking at mid to high 6 figures I'd guess for the right buyer.

@EvilFinian Год назад

One sold in 2012 for $210,000 but it was in mint condition - this one according to a quick look would be $50,000+

@apeekintime Год назад

@@EvilFinian This one probably has extra value, even at this condition, to collectors now because it came from the personal library of the Tolkien family. That's a bragging right rich people love to have. "Oh, my first edition came directly from the horses ass, and I own it now"

@supercompooper Год назад

I wish my first edition was signed 😢

@BicycleFunk Год назад

I had a version that looked like that. Think I put it I a free library. It's not a bad book.

@farpointgamingdirect Год назад

I have an exact reprint of this edition. The interaction between Bilbo and Gollum is completely different

@actually-will1606 3 месяца назад

Tolkien revised it when writing lord of the rings. It’s explained to be bilbos original description of the story.

@BirdsfromHuntingdon 4 месяца назад

As a fan of Tolkien and an avid collector of many things, I could never sell that.

@tolvaer Год назад

well done

@TheJoyfulEye 11 месяцев назад

Wow. I would never pay that for a book, but if I WERE going to pay that for a book, that's the book I would pay it for :) Fantastic story and Tolkien was a fantastic author.

@surreyboy84 Год назад

I wish I could go back in time & pick up pristine first editions of books like this. I’d make a fortune. Even Harry Potter first editions are worth a fortune now.

@ObsessedCollector Год назад

Or go back in time and buy stocks when they were pennies, or buy the company 😊

@MrPeachblossom Год назад

i.d go back to sit and talk to him

@mulemule Год назад

@@MrPeachblossom "Fool of a Took!" 😉

@oliverholmes-gunning5372 Год назад

Oh really? I have a couple in mint condition actually (Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince if memory serves). I'll check it out, thanks for the tip!

@michaelwallace4298 6 месяцев назад

I had one of those as a child - One of the reasons I became a writer! No signed letter from Tolkien though...

@hardy3089 Год назад

Idgad if she used sticky tape or not that note from Tolkien makes that book virtually priceless to a collector

@paulrodsted3905 Год назад

I don't know what edition it was but my dad used to have a copy just like this

@PLF... Год назад

Considering this is not only a long time ago, and you can buy leather bound current versions for a pretty hefty price these days the price today would probably be 4-5-6 times that if not more.

@chuckyboy6977 Год назад

When I was in middle school in the late 70’s, the Hobbit was used as a class reading exercise book. Each of us kids in class were given a copy to read from in class, if only we all knew, there were about 35 1st edition copies that sat on Mr Barnaby’s shelves for years..

@georgerendell7292 Год назад

Ugh that is genuinely heartbreaking

@georgerendell7292 Год назад

They couldn’t have first editions in the 70s though surely?

@tobydammit 5 месяцев назад

There were only 1500 copies of The Hobbit produced in its first edition. I doubt they were rattling around on Mr. Barnaby's shelf.

@c17sam90 3 месяца назад

I like how he doesn’t mention that the chapter riddles in the dark is completely different in the first edition

@r8chlletters Год назад

Worth millions now I’d imagine.

@malcolmdrake6137 Год назад

These guys are hired to get views. The items are NEVER worth a fraction of what they claim.

@AI67890_ 5 месяцев назад

@@malcolmdrake6137utter bullshit

@maddyg3208 Год назад

Back when Gollum was happy to give the ring to Bilbo ...

@manfraydayyeah5731 Год назад

..... and when Elrond was as kind as Christmas.

@planetdisco4821 Год назад

My holy grail! Got the LOTR trilogy as first editions but will never be able to afford this I suspect…

@rgjertsen Год назад

Three and a half... *Eyes open widely* Thousand pounds! "Oh! Wow..."

@davedogge2280 Год назад

nice

@garymcatear822 Год назад

I was expecting him to say 50K or something, not £3500.

@dave623 3 месяца назад

It sold for $48,000 a few months before the movie came out in 2003. Probably worth $500,000 now.

@hypsin 3 месяца назад

I was ballparking 250K+ You'll be lucky to find original DJ in good shape for 3.5K these days...

@dannil9878 8 месяцев назад

Today you could add two zeros and two bodyguards to this, If this book would ever come to this show again

@codyscott7962 10 месяцев назад

Happy Birthday Bilbo and Frodo! (Sept 22) Also, it'll definitely get more than 3.5k now.

@andysim232 Год назад

Her own. Her precious

@Keltibarian Год назад

I had that book with that dust cover, except my dust cover was in near perfect condition. Did subsequent print runs use the same dust cover? I just want to know if I threw away a fortune.

@David-bw7is Год назад

If you buy a copy of The Hobbit today in hardback it'll most likely have the same dust cover as the first edition. The only editions I've seen with different dust covers are illustrated versions of The Hobbit.

@bellerophonchallen8861 Год назад

yes you did, the copy I had, 5th edition in the same jacket with scribbling all over the maps and inscribed 'to Andrew love Mummy', raised £92,000 at auction.

@ObsessedCollector Год назад

It's the most reprinted jacket. Unless it was pre WW2, it's not much

@ejbbur4673 Год назад

l have a copy of this book but not sure if it's a First Edition. It has the same dust cover, so was wondering if 2nd edition had the same cover.

@jedaaa Год назад

I have the exact same copy

@roygfs Год назад

Today, this would be worth many times that!

@poolhall9632 6 месяцев назад

Yeah, I think the sticky tape passes the test in this particular case because it maintained the letter with the book

@theknightofdoom260 11 месяцев назад

I'm pretty sure I had this as a kid and I crayoned all over it.

@mikeuk4130 Год назад

I wonder if Simon knew that she was getting the book valued. I’m sure I saw the $ signs in her eyes just before the valuation was given. What a fabulous book. I hope it has ended up with Simon, or somebody else deserving of it.

@jackryder-sw9rk Год назад

A 1st ed. book will be worth £35,000 - £38,000 today. Tolkeins own copy passed to his son with signatures and a signed letter, probably £50,000, Some auction houses estimate £200,000 plus.

@56squadron Год назад

@@jackryder-sw9rk That's the point everyone is missing here - This was HIS copy.... it doesn't get better than the authors own personal copy, and hopefully it remains in the family.

@WiggaMachiavelli Год назад

Simon would probably give it to Amazon for a pat on the head and a 'good boy'.

@golDroger88 Год назад

@@56squadron Knowing the grandchildren it's probably better if it does not remain in the family.

@4seeableTV Год назад

She's not a robot. That's the whole point of going on these programs. Any of us would be excited just before the evaluation. They're still married by the way.

@ZepplinOnFire Год назад

Only 3.5K?!?! You would be mad to part with this heirloom for anything less than 20 times that.

@FordHoard Год назад

This was in 1990, so I'm sure it's worth way more now.

@HunterShows Год назад

Yes well this appraisal was done in 1938, so...

@Humma_Kavula Год назад

@@HunterShows what? You think this show was in 1938..?

@nategoodwin3329 Год назад

Ummm, I have a book that appears identical to this minus the personal note. Same cover, binding etc. Am I sitting on a forgotten treasure? Mine shows a copyright of 1966 though. Any help or resources on how to get the value would be appreciated greatly.

@CDNChaoZ Год назад

Yours would be a later reprint and not worth much I'm afraid. The first edition is from 1937, the publisher listed as "George Allen & Unwin Ltd" and would have the misprint as noted in the video.

@PtolemyJones Год назад

I've had that cover! It couldn't have been first edition though, could it? I'm assuming it must have been a copy of some sort.

@peterlawson8563 Год назад

correct. The publisher kept printing the same cover for many decades. Given it was painted by JRR himself, it was a good idea to keep using it

@PtolemyJones Год назад

@@peterlawson8563 Ahhh, that makes sense. Thanks for that info, would have been upset if I had a first edition and didn't know it. Shocked at the low value of this one.

@peterlawson8563 Год назад

@@PtolemyJones remember this was 30 years ago. I reckon the valuation now would be many multiples of that now, easily add a zero ...

@joncarroll2040 Год назад

It's one of the more popular editions and probably the least expensive hardback version since its marketed as the kid's version rather than the adult one. I currently have it and its probably the nicest of the Tolkien editions I own.

@dinoflagella4185 Год назад

Imagine checking this book out of your library and returning it because of late fees. You could have had your hands on a treasure.😂

@madzen112 Год назад

Where it all started :)

@tanteblanchefilms 8 месяцев назад

I have a first edition copy of The Hobbit, but it isn't signed. My Great Uncle bought it when it first came out. I'd like to sell it, but don't know where to look.

@TemujinBC Год назад

"Two things that knocked me out..." Ok we got something good here

@CoalMinorCanary Год назад

I became friends with the illustrator of that book at an art gallery under very fun circumstances. Barbara was such a talented and cool person…

@surreyboy84 Год назад

I bet it’s worth a lot more than that now thanks to the movie franchise.

@ericinla65 Год назад

MY ORIGINAL COPY had included the One Ring to Rule them All.

@JLee-rt6ve 5 месяцев назад

Then that sneaky hobbit stole it and lost it someplace. Didn't even have it insured.

@foodstick Год назад

It shocks me this could have been written so long ago.. It just seems so impossible...

@petergeorge2716 Месяц назад

It's worth a lot more than that!

@justsomeguy6474 Год назад

I can't believe that's all it's worth!

@scubascoob7441 Год назад

that was back in 1990

@Bluechief6 Год назад

You can hear his brain after she answers "by marriage." "Hmm... by marriage... so less nerd points for you then."

@janethaagenstad8380 Год назад

Why isn’t the British Antiques road show on American television anymore? I really miss it.

@armorykittington Год назад

350k seems real low to me. Priceless. Precious.

@Jo-yp8wy Год назад

My Mum read us not only the entire Hobbit but also The Lord Of The Rings. My sister was scared. I wasn't 😂.

@davidpeters6536 Год назад

Amazing, looks just like the copy I was loaned to read in 1976 by an ex-girlfriend's dad. It didn't have a letter from JRRT in it and the ex wasn't related to him but it was a great read when I had flu..