How to Identify First Edition Copies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and How Much They Are Worth

Do you own a copy of The Lord of the Rings? If you do, you could be in for a surprise. In this article we will explore the works of J.R.R. Tolkien to find out just how valuable first editions of The Lord of the Rings and first edition of The Hobbit are, and how you can identify them.

For years now, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has been a household name, drawing in fans both young and old all over the world meaning you are unlikely to find any book lover who hasn’t already read The Lord of the Rings at least once.

Since its release following the successful launch of Tolkien's first book, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings has seen success after success, leading to an estimated 150,000,000 copies printed to date. But in this article, we aren’t just going to be looking at the average copies you might find at WHSmith, we are going to look at the true first editions and how you can identify them.

In this article, we will explore some tips and tricks to help you identify what a first edition Lord of the Rings book looks like and how much it's worth. We will also be going into detail about some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s other titles, most notably, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion.

A first edition of a popular book can sometimes be valued upwards of thousands, if not tens of thousands of pounds, depending on what book it is and its condition. Of course, this isn’t always true, but considering the immense popularity of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, and the importance they hold in the literature community, their value can reach staggering heights.

So, if you have an old copy of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or The Silmarillion, now’s the time to dig it out and see if you are the lucky owner of a first edition Tolkien classic.

Go and grab yourself a cup of tea, get comfortable, and let’s get started.

What is the difference between 'first edition' and 'first printing'?

Reader's Note: Throughout this article, we will be referring to ‘first edition’ and ‘first printing’, these are phrases that come up a lot when considering rare literature, but they both have different meanings, here's what they mean:

First Edition: A 'first edition' book is a copy of the first version of the book. A second edition is a version of a book after adjustments are made to the original. These can be in the form of new artwork, corrected errors, or simply changes in the wording.

First Printing: 'First printings' (or 'first impressions') are the copies of a book that are part of the first print run of an edition. For example, if a new edition of a book is released with new cover art, the first printings will be the ones that are printed first.

The size of print runs varies from book to book, it's common to find that books written by relatively less well-known authors or books that are the first of their series have a much smaller number of first edition, first printing copies. This is due mainly to the fact that the publisher can’t guarantee the book's success and is less willing to invest in large-scale printing straight away.

For true collectors, a first printing of a first edition is the ultimate goal as these tend to be the rarest, but later printings and editions can still hold significant value.

Before we begin, just a warning, the following content may contain some spoilers so if you haven’t already read any of the Tolkien books, continue with care.

Who was J.R.R. Tolkien?

Born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, otherwise known as J.R.R. Tolkien, is best known as the author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books. Tolkien’s contributions to the high fantasy genre aren’t his only achievements, during his professional career he was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and a Fellow of Pembroke College at the University of Oxford.

The Hobbit First Edition

For the sake of chronology, we are going to start with the first of Tolkien’s published novels, The Hobbit. The Hobbit follows an unsuspecting hobbit (otherwise known as a halfling) of the shire on an epic adventure that takes him and his new dwarven companions on an adventure to reclaim the Lonely Mountain, the ancestral home of the dwarves.

Published on the 21st of November 1937, the first print run only consisted of 1,500 books, which, despite being Tolkien’s first published novel, sold out in just under three months. Since then, The Hobbit has sold approximately 100 million copies worldwide, which means that the first editions make up around 0.0015% of all the total printed copies. The passage of time has only made the elusive 1,500-strong first printing even rarer due to the inevitable disappearance and damage of some books.

When it comes to identifying a true first edition, first printing of The Hobbit you need to look for all of the following details:

• The publisher should be “George Allen & Unwin Ltd”.
• The Publication date should be 1937.
• All of the illustrations in the book should be in black and white. After the success of the first print run, a second print run was released with colour illustrations.
• On the inside of the back cover of the first edition dust jackets there is a mistake. Halfway down the page, the word Dodgson is spelled "Dodgeson", including an 'e' where there shouldn't be one. In most first edition copies, this ‘e’ has been crossed out by hand using black ink.

The Lord of the Rings First Edition

We all know The Lord of the Rings as a trilogy, but did you know that J.R.R. Tolkien originally wrote it as a single volume comprised of over 1070 pages? It was only when the publishers saw the sheer size of the book that they became concerned that the printing cost would be too high and agreed to split the book into three separate volumes. The publishers, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, also signed a contract with Tolkien which stated that the author would only receive money after the books had covered the printing costs, which was very unusual for the time.

The Lord of the Rings takes place around 60 years after the events of The Hobbit and continues the story of the ring found by Bilbo in the depths of the Goblin Kingdom. Over the course of the three books, the reader is taken on another epic adventure across Middle Earth, this time to bring about the destruction of the One Ring and prevent it from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord Sauron.

Finding a first edition copy of any of The Lord of the Rings books would be a lucky find to say the least, but getting your hands on the whole first edition trilogy (Fellowship of the Ring + The Two Towers + The Return of the King) is a feat that most collectors can only aspire to.

So, how can you tell if your copy of The Lord of the Rings is a first edition or not? Find all the details below in your copy and you could have a first edition. But remember, your book needs ALL of the below details to be a first edition copy of The Lord of the Rings:

• The Publisher should be “George Allen & Unwin Ltd”
• The first two books (The Fellowship of the Ring & The Two Towers) should have a publication date of 1954.
• The third book (The Return of the King) should have a publication date of 1955.
• The dust jackets on the books should list the other books in the series.
• In the third volume, The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King, there is a small printing error on page 49, near the bottom of the page, the text drops slightly. This is believed to be an error with the printer while the book was being produced. It’s worth noting this small error is not present in every first edition copy, so make sure you have all the other indicators.

A common query when it comes to the legitimacy of first editions of The Lord of the Rings is the fact that later books in the same series are listed on the dust jackets of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, this is because the books that come later in a series are usually not finished by the time their predecessors are printed. The Lord of the Rings, however, is an exception, as we mentioned earlier, the entire book had already been written by and given to the publisher, and it was only then that the decision was made to split the book into three volumes.

The Silmarillion First Edition

Finally, we come to The Silmarillion. After the success of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Tolkien hoped that he would one day publish his Mythology of Middle Earth, but as the years went on he found it harder and harder to devote time to making this dream come true. Sadly, he passed away on the 2nd of September of 1973 before he could publish Mythology of Middle Earth, he did however, entrust his legacy to his youngest son, Christopher. Christopher, like his father, was a lecturer at the University of Oxford and was heavily involved in the inception of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Eventually, Christopher was able to get The Silmarillion published by Allen & Unwin in 1977.

Unlike previous titles from J.R.R. Tolkien, first editions of The Silmarillion are quite easy to come by and are worth a relatively small amount, costing around £100 to £500 for a copy in good condition. From a collector’s point of view, a first edition of The Silmarillion is a great way to get started.

Signed Copies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

Copies of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit signed by J.R.R. Tolkien himself are scarce, so if you find yourself looking to add a signed copy to your collection you are going to need to write a hefty check. Putting a value on a genuine signed copy of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit is difficult as the price range varies so much, but if you do manage to find one you will be looking for a cost of anything between a few thousand for a signed copy of a later edition, to anywhere up to £500,000 for a full set of signed first editions of The Lord of the Rings.

J.R.R. Tolkien and WeBuyBooks

We’ve seen our fair share of old copies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit here at WeBuyBooks. Take a look at some of these examples.

First Impressions of the Second Revised Edition of The Lord of the Rings

First Thus Taiwanese Edition of The Lord of the Rings

(First Thus - this means the book is not the first appearance of a first printing, but it is the first appearance of the printing after a substantial change i.e. altered artwork, different language etc.)

Fake First Edition of The Hobbit Printed in Taiwan

(Due to the popularity and success of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, fakes and pirated copies were common around the time of printing)

Other Books by J.R.R. Tolkien

The books that we have mentioned so far aren’t the only work by J.R.R. Tolkien worthy of note, even after his death in 1973, Tolkien’s works continued to be published by his children and living relatives. Take a look at some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s other works published both before and after his death.

• The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962) – A collection of poems that feature Tom Bombadil, the mysterious creature that Frodo Baggins encounters in The Lord of the Rings.
• The Father Christmas Letters (1976) – A collection of letters from Father Christmas written and illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien to his children.
• The Fall of Númenor (2022) – A collection of previously published short stories that illustrate the fall of the kingdom of Númenor, now organised into the order in which they take place in Middle Earth.
• Unfinished Tales (1980) – A collection of stories that J.R.R. Tolkien never managed to finish, edited, and comprised into one work by his son Christopher.

How Much Is a First Edition Copy of The Lord of the Rings Worth?

When it comes to the value of first editions of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books, prices can vary greatly depending on condition. Here are some of the prices you might expect to see:

• The Hobbit - £5,000 to £40,000
• The Lord of the Rings (full set) - £30,000 to £130,000
• The Silmarillion - £100 to £500 These values will be impacted by things like the presence of a signature, damage to the book, missing dust jacket, stains, etc.

So, that brings our guide on how to identify a first edition copy of The Lord of the Rings to an end, now it’s time to take what you have learned to see if you have any old first edition Tolkien books hidden away. We hope this guide has helped you in your search for the ever elusive first edition Tolkien classics and we wish you all the best in your search. But never forget, if you find yourself muttering "my precious" under your breath, it might be time to take a break…

Sell Your Copies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit

Don't worry if your Tolkien collection aren't first editions, you can still sell them and make yourself some extra cash! Use the WeBuyBooks app and follow the simple steps below to sell you books:

Here's how to do it:

1. Use the WeBuyBooks app to scan the barcode on your books or enter the ISBN into the search bar.

2. Get an instant valuation, accept your offer, and pick your payment method.

3. Box your items, print the postage label, and send it with our designated courier for FREE.

4. Relax! Once we’ve received your items, we’ll check them and pay you the next day.