The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein - 1938: or There and Back Again

This is the 1st Edition, 1st Impression, 1st State, with the bowing Hobbit on the title page.

This book is one of the 3000 probably to have been printed and the rarest of the 1st US edition. This books shows all features of a first state hobbit, like the Wilderland map in front and the Lonely Mountain map in back, the reverse of the description in the text and Chapter VII (Out of the Frying Pan) is incorrectly identified as 'Chapter VI'. The margins are ample and the typesetting is well crafted for readability. The tan cloth cover is printed in blue for lettering and red for the bowing hobbit emblem on the front and the dwarf's hood emblem on the spine. Embellished with 4 colour plates and black and white illustrations throughout by the author. All of which are present and in extremely clean and bright condition. This is also the first edition to feature the 'Bilbo Wakes Up' plate. Hammond & Anderson [A3b]. The text block and maps are also very clean and bright, with a small bookplate Jervis Library on inside front cover map, and inside back cover map has a few Elvish characters missing and one strip on paper from the library pocket. Title page has small red stamped "Discarded from Jervis Library". The original cloth shows a little shelf wear on the top edge and a smudge on the back cover board. No Dustjacket. "Some consider the first American edition of The Hobbit to be the most beautifully designed of any edition. Houghton Mifflin chose to print it in a larger size and on heavier stock than Allen & Unwin's first edition, and they chose to include four color plates of Tolkien's original artwork".