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A rare first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 'The Hobbit' has sold for £43,000 at a UK auction after being discovered in a Bristol home.
The volume was spotted by chance during a routine house clearance in Bristol, where it had been tucked away on a bookcase. Auctioneum’s book specialist Caitlin Riley identified the early edition by its green cloth cover and black-and-white illustrations.
It had belonged to the family library of Hubert Priestley, a botanist associated with the University of Oxford. Auctioneum believes Priestley and Tolkien may have known one another, as both corresponded with author C.S. Lewis.
The book, one of only 1,500 printed in the novel’s first 1937 run, was listed with an estimate of £10,000 ($12,672) to £12,000 ($15,206). It ultimately sold online for £43,000 ($57,708) to a private UK collector after attracting global bids. Auctioneum said this is likely a record price for a first edition of “The Hobbit.”
“Some of the most sought-after books in modern literature,” is how the auction house described surviving copies from the original print run, of which only a few hundred are thought to remain.
“Nobody knew it was there,” said Riley. “It was clearly an early Hobbit at first glance, so I just pulled it out and began to flick through it, never expecting it to be a true first edition… When I realised what it was, my heart began pounding.”
Tolkien created the world of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” while teaching at Oxford. Together, the books have sold more than 250 million copies and inspired the hit film series of the 2000s, according to Euronews.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), a magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the Oaxaca region of Mexico on Saturday.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will send an upgraded ‘version 3.0’ free-trade agreement to their heads of government for approval in October, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday after regional talks in Kuala Lumpur.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
OpenAI’s GPT-5 model is nearing release, with early testers praising its coding and problem-solving skills, though experts say the leap from GPT-4 may be smaller than previous upgrades.
The Princess of Wales has launched a series of animated films on YouTube aimed at supporting children's emotional and social development. The project, developed by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, is designed for use by charities, families, and early years education professionals.
Two Zara advertisements have been banned in the UK after regulators ruled they promoted an irresponsible body image by featuring models who appeared excessively thin, according to Euronews.
Remember when the metaverse was going to change everything? In 2021, tech giants raced to build virtual worlds, and Facebook even changed its name to 'Meta.' Now, in 2025, the headlines have gone silent. What happened to the metaverse, and is there still a future for it?
Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne died of a heart attack on 22 July, according to his death certificate. The 76-year-old heavy metal icon had long battled coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease.
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