The Art of the Hobbit

A sumptuous full colour art book containing the complete collection of more than 100 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps created by J.R.R. Tolkien for The Hobbit. When J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, he was already an accomplished amateur artist, and drew illustrations for his book while it was still in manuscript. The Hobbit as first printed had ten black and white pictures, two maps, and binding and dust-jacket designs by its author. Later, Tolkien also painted five scenes for colour plates which are some of his best work. His illustrations for The Hobbit add an extra dimension to that remarkable book, and have long influenced how readers imagine Bilbo Baggins and his world. The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is the complete collection of the artwork created by the author for his story. Including related pictures, more than one hundred sketches, drawings, paintings, maps, and plans are presented here, preliminary and alternate versions and experimental designs as well as finished art. Using fresh digital scans from the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford and Marquette University in Wisconsin, Tolkien’s Hobbit pictures can be seen more vividly than ever before. Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, two of the world’s leading Tolkien scholars, have edited the book and provide an expert introduction and comments. Readers who have enjoyed The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien will find much of interest also in The Art of The Hobbit.

About the Author :
J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 60 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide. Wayne G. Hammond, is Assistant Librarian in the Chapin Library of Rare Books, Williams College, author of the standard bibliography of Tolkien’s works, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography (1993), and a regular contributor of Tolkien’s notes to the journal Mythlore. He also lectures on the history of printing and illustration and is a practising book designer and graphic artist – making him the ideal co-author of the acclaimed study of Tolkien’s paintings and drawings, J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator. His wife Christina Scull is the former librarian of Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, author of The Soane Hogarths (1991) and the editor of the magazine The Tolkien Collector. The couple live in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Christina Scull is the former librarian of Sir John Soane’s Museum, London. She is the author of ‘The Soane Hogarths’ (1991), edits the journal ‘The Tolkien Collector’, and frequently writes and speaks about Tolkien. Her husband, Wayne G. Hammond, is Assistant Librarian in the Chapin Library of Rare Books, Williams College, author of the standard bibliography of Tolkien’s works, ‘J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography’ (1993), and a regular contributor of Tolkien’s notes to the journal ‘Mythlore’. He also lectures on the history of printing and illustration and is a practising book designer and graphic artist – making him the ideal co-author of the acclaimed study of Tolkien’s paintings and drawings, ‘J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator’. The couple live in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Review :
‘How, given little over half a century of work, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?’ THE GUARDIAN ‘Demanding to be compared with English mythologies… at times rises to the greatness of true myth’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘A creation of singular beauty… magnificent in its best moments’ WASHINGTON POST