When Thorin Oakenshield and his band of dwarves embark upon a dangerous quest to reclaim the hoard of gold stolen from them by the evil dragon Smaug, Gandalf the wizard suggests an unlikely accomplice: Bilbo Baggins, an unassuming Hobbit dwelling in peaceful Hobbiton. For the first time ever, a special enhanced edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien himself [20 b/w, 36 col illus] and with the complete text printed in two colours.

HarperCollins have announced a new edition of The Hobbit, illustrated with “a greatly enhanced” gallery of 50 paintings, maps and drawings – due out on 14 September It could also include miscellaneous pieces (with obvious thematic connections) like “Water, Wind & Sand” I dunno. It’s kind of fun that they started with the “illustrated” concept, and tried out to see what they could pull off by stretching the concept to its limits. Even without the illustrations, these books are an attractive format, which people are obviously (I would say) buying. So let’s see if we can stretch the definition further, with a little imagination… With better than a baker's dozen of little folks in starring roles the temptation to over-incorporate moments of comic relief [vignettes of Gimli] must have rivaled the gnawing urge which only The One Ring could normally generate. While some tasteful levity fell well within the bounds of a palatable script, I did actually breathe a sigh of relief once I realized that few such incidents were forthcoming. Now, in this new edition, readers will at last be able to enjoy the full panoply of J.R.R. Tolkien’s paintings, drawings, maps and designs that richly capture the enchanted world of Bilbo Baggins.’

Customer reviews

In the first of the two *The Hobbit* entries [sub-titled: *Into The Wilderness*], a more youthful Bilbo Baggins is craftily crow-barred by Gandalf into embarking upon a great adventure (Hobbits *despise* adventures!) and by serving as a burglar for a grumbly troupe of thirteen dwarves, all of whom are determined to reclaim their lost family treasure from the Evil dragon, Smaug; however, the actual battle with Smaug at the Lonely Mountain will have to wait until Part II [to be entitled: *Into the Fire*] is released. For the first time ever, a beautiful slipcased edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, with the complete text printed in two colours and with many bonus features unique to this edition. Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, almost dead and dark, with scarcely a snore more than a whiff of unseen steam, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance! In 1967, six years after legendary editor Ursula Nordstrom had nurtured his creative direction and four years after his iconic Where the Wild Things Are, 39-year-old Maurice Sendak was commissioned to illustrate a 30th anniversary edition of The Hobbit. But the project fell through, leaving behind only a single surviving drawing, which Open Culture unearthed.

Writing about the allure of fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien famously asserted that there is no such thing as writing “for children”— that’s perhaps why his stories continue to enchant generations and attract admirers of all ages. Tolkien’s first major work, The Hobbit ( public library) — which predates his epic novel The Lord of the Rings by nearly 20 years — was published in 1937 and in the years since has drawn remarkable international acclaim. Because the story is driven by visual whimsy, it has also produced a number of vibrant illustrated editions from all around the world, beginning with Tolkien’s own artwork for the original edition, which I wrote about some years ago. Here are a few favorites. J.R.R. TOLKIEN (GREAT BRITAIN, 1937)

Por fim, Tolkien mostra-se habilidoso na técnica de produzir tempo e espaço com palavras. “O Hobbit” é um conto de aventura e viagem, e para descrever uma viagem é preciso fazer com que a distância entre os diferentes cenários deixe-se sentir por mais do que palavras indicativas de lapso temporal (“três dias”) ou espacial (“trinta milhas”). Ulmo wrote:I dunno. It’s kind of fun that they started with the “illustrated” concept, and tried out to see what they could pull off by stretching the concept to its limits. Even without the illustrations, these books are an attractive format, which people are obviously (I would say) buying. So let’s see if we can stretch the definition further, with a little imagination… consisting of essentially Poems and Stories + Bilbo’s Last Song + fold-out maps—all her Tolkien maps! O inglês de “O Hobbit” é relativamente simples; embora o autor utilize alguns termos arcaicos, sua sintaxe é clara e o vocabulário pode ser dominado logo (sugiro a consulta ao “Google Imagens” para os nomes de acidentes geográficos). Velmeran wrote:I hope they stop the Illustrated by the Author line here though, as they already had to stretch the definition of an illustration pretty thin for The Silmarillion and I don't think there is enough material left to fill another book after this release.

In October of 1936, Tolkien delivered to his publisher the manuscript of The Hobbit, in which he included more than 100 illustrations — Tolkien, unbeknownst to many, was a rather gifted and prolific artist. These manuscript drawings were recently released in The Art of the Hobbit ( public library) — a magnificent volume celebrating the 75th anniversary of The Hobbit with 110 beautiful, many never-before-seen illustrations by Tolkien, ranging from pencil sketches to ink line drawings to watercolors.

From the publisher

Part I largely focuses upon the history of the dwarves and the initial hazards that they encounter during their single-minded quest, chiefly battling orcs in the Misty Mountains and finishing with their tribulations with the giant spiders of the vast and ominous Mirkwood forest. The return of Mr. Bilbo Baggins created quite a disturbance, both under the Hill and over the Hill, and across the Water; it was a great deal more than a nine days’ wonder.»

For the first time ever, a special enhanced edition of the enchanting prelude to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout with over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien himself and with the complete text printed in two colours. I present only a singular critique of this film and it has nothing to do with the body of the movie itself: I feel compelled to comment that the decision to incorporate the endless scroll of Tolkien Fan Club members' names within the end credits is ill-advised and indirectly demeaning to the actual cast and crew. What do these people actually contribute to the film's production? Loyalty and moral support? The folks who have indeed delivered something more tangible are appropriately noted elsewhere within the credits. But most of the listed individuals have played no real part whatever, regardless of the syrupy patronization conducted by the film-makers toward this particular faction of Tolkien enthusiasts. Including these names in the film credits, which also takes in the so-called self-appointed "guardians" of Tolkien's work [a trivial minority of Tolkien Fan Club members], amounts to little more than a shallow ego-bribe. It's presumptuous as the devil to assert that Tolkien's books *need* guarding by anyone -- the affiliation here is more akin to pretentious posthumous tail-gating on the venerable Old Master. Originally published in 1937, The Hobbit has gone on to sell over 150 million copies over the years. It tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit and unlikely hero, who goes on a grand adventure to the lair of Smaug the Dragon. Along the way, he comes into possession of the One Ring, an accident that will have some pretty sizable consequences in the years to come, as told in The Lord of the Rings.

Success!

This new edition of The Hobbit follows similar editions of Tolkien’s other books featuring the author’s hand-drawn maps and artwork. There’s The Lord of the Rings Illustrated, which came out in 2021 and The Silmarillion Illustrated, which arrived last fall.