A quiet beginning for a very long journey.

On 21 September 1937, George Allen & Unwin published J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit in Britain. Its first printing was modest. The world it opened would prove anything but Tolkien developed the tale while teaching at Oxford and telling stories to his children. The book moved between oral storytelling, illustration and print before reaching a wider public. The success of The Hobbit encouraged its publisher to ask for a sequel.

• Event Date: 1937-10-15
• Image Credits: I Know History
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• Square Image Credits: I Know History