# Original text of The Hobbit--where to get it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-text-of-the-hobbit-where-to-get-it/689446 "2014-05-28T06:15:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-text-of-the-hobbit-where-to-get-it/689446/1 "2014-05-28T06:15:16Z")
The Hobbit we’ve all read was revised to match up with the later-written Lord of the Rings. The original was different in many respects, the bit I know about is the riddle-game is different, and Gollum offers “a present” rather than to show the way out. Where can I read the original 1934 text of The Hobbit? (Other than spending $20,000 or so on a 1st printing copy.) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-text-of-the-hobbit-where-to-get-it/689446/2 "2014-05-28T07:27:55Z")
The first edition was published in 1937 (not 1934), the second in 1951, and the third in 1966. The later editions differed in a few ways from the first one, but it wasn’t really that big a change. Mostly it was about the meeting of Bilbo and Gollum. You can find a complete comparison of the differences between the editions in _The Annotated Hobbit_, which is annotated by Douglas A. Anderson. It’s in print. Here’s a table of the differences between the Bilbo/Gollum scene: [http://www.ringgame.net/riddles.html](http://www.ringgame.net/riddles.html) ---
**Author:** ![Fishtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ed655f/32.png) [@Fishtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fishtar)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-text-of-the-hobbit-where-to-get-it/689446/3 "2014-05-28T08:12:00Z")
The History of the Hobbit allegedly contains the original manuscript. I am sure the manuscript differs a bit from the first edition, but if you want the earliest form Tolkien was happy with… > **[The History of The Hobbit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_the_Hobbit)** > > The History of The Hobbit is a two-volume study of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit. It was published by HarperCollins in May and June 2007 in the United Kingdom, with both volumes released in the United States by Houghton Mifflin on 21 September 2007; a boxed set combining The Hobbit with The History of The Hobbit was released on 26 October 2007. A single-volume edition was released on 27 October 2011. > The two-volume work contains Tolkien's unpublished drafts of the novel, with comme... ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-text-of-the-hobbit-where-to-get-it/689446/4 "2014-05-28T13:15:40Z")
I think your best bet is looking at “The Annotated Hobbit” [http://www.amazon.com/The-Annotated-Hobbit-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618134700](http://www.amazon.com/The-Annotated-Hobbit-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618134700) It includes that original, if I recall. I got it from my local library, & it had lots of good info. Editing to say: Oops! I didn’t realize I was just seconding Wendell Wagner’s recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-text-of-the-hobbit-where-to-get-it/689446/5 "2014-05-28T14:31:55Z")
> [@Fishtar](#): > > [The History of The Hobbit - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_the_Hobbit) HOTH is a fascinating read; The adventures of Bladorthin the wizard, Gandalf the dwarf, and the mighty dragon Pryftan. Oh, Bilbo the hobbit too… ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-text-of-the-hobbit-where-to-get-it/689446/6 "2014-05-28T14:51:35Z")
I have not gotten around to reading “History of the Hobbit” (local libraries don’t have it) - but with the recommendations here, I think I may have to find a copy. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/original-text-of-the-hobbit-where-to-get-it/689446/7 "2014-05-28T21:15:56Z")
I shouldn’t post late at night. I don’t know where my fingers got 1934, but it wasn’t from my brain. So “History” or “Annotated” are it, absent a copy from 1937-1950. And extra thanks for the “comparison” page WW, that’s awesome! Thanks!