A 'rare' first edition copy of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit, found during a Bristol house sale, has sold at auction for £43,000 (€49,000).
According to auction house Auctioneum, it is just one of 1,500 copies printed in September 1937 and was sold to a private collector from the UK at auction in Bath.
Caitlin Riley, a book expert at Auctioneum, said: “It's a typical auction story. Everyone dreams of finding a rare item hidden in plain sight, and here we are.”
“Cleaning your home can be a difficult, stressful and tedious task. If there was ever a good advertisement for our services, this is it! This item could have easily ended up in a landfill or been thrown away by someone who had no idea of its value. It is truly lucky to survive!
“The result only underlines the sincere love for Tolkien's works. Written almost 90 years ago, it is surprisingly relevant and popular to this day.
“People still want to escape reality, immerse themselves in a magical world and discover new characters. Some are obviously willing to pay significant amounts for this opportunity.
“Like the story on the cover, selling this book was a real adventure.
“We received hundreds of inquiries from all over the world, and although we expected some interest, we did not expect it to be this much! This is a remarkable result for such a unique book.”
Including the buyer's commission, which is an additional fee the winning bidder must pay on top of the hammer price, the total price of the book was £52,000 (€59,000).
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
