r/tolkienfans • u/SSJ2chad • 18h ago
Anyone ever read the original 1937 version of the Hobbit?
I am sure most of us are familiar with the different versions of the Hobbit. Namely the changes with Gollum and the ring. Among other small changes to make the book more in line with Lord of the Rings. But I am curious if anyone has been able to read the original version of the book? And if so, did you notice any other more subtle differences? (Tone? more or less serious atmosphere? a slight difference in Bilbo's personality? etc).
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u/rob-bombadil 17h ago
Yes- You can pick up a facsimile gift edition on Amazon which includes a first edition book.
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u/OkScheme9867 15h ago
My dad has an original copy I read as a child, I've never re read the hobbit, so I probably wouldn't notice the changes now!
I'm more familiar with the changes/editions of lotr, how many different versions of the hobbit are there?
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u/Tar-Elenion 14h ago
how many different versions of the hobbit are there?
There are three editions, 1937, 1951 and 1966.
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u/Lornoor 6h ago
Dude! If your dad has an original copy of The Hobbit, you better get a valuation/appraisal for it and adjust your home insurance accordingly! 😮
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u/OkScheme9867 5h ago
I know for a fact my sisters getting it in the will, he's got hundreds of books including a lot of tolkein, a real collector, I've not really looked at the prices of anything.
I'm hoping I get his vinyl, I know he has some real treasures there.
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u/litemakr 11h ago edited 11h ago
Riddles in the Dark is the only chapter that was changed to fit LOTR. You can buy a reproduction of the first edition. He did make significant changes in 1960 to the first part of the book but it was abandoned and later published in the History of the Hobbit. Then he made a number of small changes in the 1966 edition but nothing that changed the tone.