Books

First edition, first impression, of the author's fantastical fable, set in a medieval version of Oxfordshire, where Tolkien lived and worked for most of his life. Written in 1937, the year Tolkien published The Hobbit, the story describes the encounters between Farmer Giles and giants, talking dogs, and a dragon. Octavo. Original orange cloth, spine lettered in blue, dragon illustration to front cover in blue, patterned endpapers, top edge blue. With dust jacket. Two-colour frontispiece, black-and-white illustrations throughout, all by Pauline Baynes. Discreet ink shelf number to front free endpaper verso. Tiny marks to cloth; jacket price-clipped, extremities lightly rubbed and nicked, short closed tear to head of front panel, else bright: a near-fine copy in near-fine jacket. Hammond & Anderson A4a.