Rare edition of ‘The Hobbit’ sells for €29,000 at Kilkenny auction

The first in the movie series of The Hobbit was called An Unexpected Journey — an apt description of how a rare edition of Tolkien’s classic tale went under the hammer for €29,000 yesterday.

It was a pretty penny more than the seller’s grandfather must have paid for the 1937 copy of The Hobbit at a jumble sale 30 years ago.

She put it into yesterday’s rare books sale by Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers, where bidding began at €16,000, lower than the pre-sale lower estimate of €20,000.