The Hobbit

1988 Book Club Associates | 50th Anniversary Edition | Illustrated with Tolkien’s Artwork

A handsome 1988 hardcover edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, based on the special 50th Anniversary edition first published the previous year. This edition combines Tolkien’s classic story with his own distinctive artwork and cartography, including the wonderful map endpapers and the instantly recognizable mountain-and-forest dust jacket design.

Published by Book Club Associates in arrangement with Unwin Hyman Limited, this copy is the 1988 reprint of the 1987 BCA edition. It uses the fourth-edition text and includes the special Foreword by Christopher Tolkien, originally prepared for the 50th anniversary of The Hobbit.

The colorful dust jacket reproduces Tolkien’s iconic landscape design, with its green forests, blue mountains and brilliant red sun—an image closely associated with the book since its earliest publication.