The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, 1956 8th Impression with Dustjacket, Custom Slipcase by Tolkien, J. R. R - 1956

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1956. 2nd Edition. Original Cloth. Very Good Plus/Near Fine. J.R.R. Tolkien. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, 1956 8th Impression with Dustjacket, Custom Slipcase. A Very Good Plus/Near Fine copy of an extremely scarce early Hobbit. The 1956 printing, of the 2nd Edition (1951), or the 8th printing overall (1937). This copy is a stated 8th impression from the dustjacket, published by Houghton Mifflin from sheets imported from Great Britain. Stated 8th impression on front flap, not price clipped, noted as printed in Great Britain. According to Houghton Mifflin records, one of 1000 imported from Allen & Unwin, lacking the printing history on title verso, possibly to help them circumvent the import restrictions and US copyright laws. The book features the original unpriced dustjacket with the Mountains and Dragon design by the author, with a $2.50 bookstore price stamp to the front flap. The boards show no soiling with a slight moisture ring to the front boards, the only markings, the slightest bit of rubbing to the spine fold edges, no significant shelfwear to note. The text block is clean without any writing or markings, slight toning, without foxing or offsetting, a small moisture or discoloration to a couple of pages around the title page. No bumped corners, no significant faults. The dustjacket is not price clipped, and has no markings. The front flap shows a previous fold down the middle, now straightened out and the dustjacket is now covered in an archival protector. It shows only the most minor of rubbing, with absolutely no loss of color to any of the edges or fold areas. An absolutely fabulous dustjacket. A beautiful clean copy, one of the copies with the dark reddish brown (rust) colored boards stamped in blue, that are very hard to find. Contains the full color frontispiece "The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the Water", as well as the original line drawings by Tolkien. The maps are in excellent condition, with the red and black ink still showing clear and bright against the endpapers, a hint of browning to the gutters. Both maps have no foxing, no marks, or previous owners names. A highly collectable copy, hard to find in this beautiful Near Fine condition. Digital photo's available, inquire if interested. Other Tolkien books available, include both the UK and US editions, original cloth bindings, custom fine bindings, and Signed/Numbered/Limited Editions. Very Good Plus / Near Fine.