The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

What a fantastic book. I feel like it was an absolute bargin at this price. I first read The Hobbit during Christmas break from 8th grade in 1975. My older brother got a Tolkien calendar, and it had so much original artwork. Years later I wish we would have thought I had to keep that. Seeing these images in this book brought back lots of fond memories, plus all the additional drawings and paintings I had never seen.Any fan of Tolkien will like this book, and it is well worth it

I confess that a large part of the charm of The Hobbit was Tolkien's own pen and ink or water color illustrations he did for the book. The value of this volume is that it takes us through many of the early drafts, sometimes as many as four full page illustrations, before reaching the final version. This is especially valuable with the many versions of the two key maps Tolkien did for the final printed edition of the book.Many of the pictures are an antidote to the picture we have been given of key scenes by Peter Jackson's LOTR and The Hobbit films. Perhaps the biggest difference we find is in the depiction of "The Last Homely House", later known as Rivendell. Tolkien did not imagine it as an elaborate art nouveau architecture. Rather, it was not much more that a cozy Swiss style chalet in the foothills of the Misty mountains. The depiction of the woodland elves' abode is also much less imposing than Jackson's rendering.This means there is much to be gained by reading the novel, with Tolkien's illustrations, before watching what it became in the very creative hands of Jackson and company. For those of you who have seen the companion book on the Art of Lord of the Rings, I must say this is a better book, because there is much more original work from Tolkien from which to draw (to coin a phrase.) If you have not already bought the LOTR volume, get this one first.The only disappointment with this volume is that while the illustrations for the Trolls done by Tolkien are presented, there is nothing said about them, unlike virtually every other series of illustrations.The reproductions of all illustrations on large fold out glossy pages is magnificent. Well worth the relatively modest cost for an art book.

J.R.R. Tolkien's prowess as a creative writer is now well known, but there may be some who do not yet realize that he was a gifted artist as well. In The Art of the Hobbit pre-eminent Tolkien scholars Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull have collected every known drawing and sketch made by Tolkien to illustrate The Hobbit and analyzed them with love and scholarly rigor. The result is a fascinating and beautiful book.Tolkien was painstaking both in his writings and in his artworks. Often there are several versions of a planned painting, meticulously covered with Tolkien's notes to himself about improvements and adjustments that needed to be made. Tolkien was also knowledgeable about and deeply interested in the physical process of book publishing, and he was heavily involved in the process of designing, printing, and finally publishing The Hobbit. Included in this book are the familiar paintings and drawings that have been included in most editions of The Hobbit, along with discarded variations, all with rich and fascinating descriptions and analyses by Hammond and Scull. There are several foldout pages that provide a wider view of how some drawings developed and changed as well.As a Tolkien fan for over 40 years I found The Art of the Hobbit to be a richly rewarding book to examine, and I intend to spend much more time poring over its pages. However impressive the artistic creations of others who have illustrated Tolkien's worlds, nothing matches the special beauty and love that he put into his own paintings and drawings. The Art of The Hobbit well displays that love and beauty, and it should become an absolutely essential part of the libraries of all lovers of Middle earth.

If you love The Hobbit then you owe it to yourself to buy this book.An absolutely beautiful dust jacket (the hardcover itself is wonderfully decorated as well) is a nice preview of what's in the book.Tolkien's 'The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the-water' in color (also an earlier b&w version is included)defines his vision perfectly for me. When I first read The Hobbit so many years ago (the 1970's) this is how I pictured Hobbiton. It was amazing to see Tolkien's landscape. There's many places the book has. Rivendell. Versions of Thror's map. Trolls! Sketches of the 'moon runes' (mirror-reverse of course.) The Misty Mountains. Beorn's House. Fanghorn Forest. Smaug himself. Sketches of Bilbo.The sketches for the original book's binding and spine are fascinating and shows how much care and attention Tolkien lavished on the physical book itself - including the dust jacket. (And kudos to the original publisher for presenting the book this way - having no idea how it might sell.)This is a large book (but not thick)with quite a few fold out pages - although these pages are not used to reproduce 'landscape' spreads - instead individual illustrations are on each page to better compare them side by side.This book would make the perfect companion if you re-read The Hobbit as often as I do.You will especially love this book if you're a hobbit or have some hobbit blood lines in your heritage.

Tolkien is one of my favorite authors, and the Hobbit is my favorite book, so I was really excited when I learned that he did illustrations for it! Tolkien's art has a really distinct and beautiful style that I think captures scenes in the book in a way that reflects his writing style. Whimsical, fantastic, and intimate, but also vast, sophisticated, and mysterious. I couldn't be happier with this book!

A must for every Tolkien afficionado.

I ordered the Art of the Hobbit for my grandson's 7th birthday and he loved it! He only recently got into the books, movies and other things related to the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I spent a lot on it, but it is something that I hope that he will treasure for many years to come.

I truly believe the Art of the Hobbit is a very interesting book for people who wish to gain insight to Tolkien's work as an Artist, primarily for Tolkien fanatics. The book is colourful enough to show the progress work of all the illustrations that ended up in the first copy of the Hobbit. However the other pieces of art shown in the book that may have not been published elsewhere are really not much more than drafts or studies for the final illustrations all seen before in Hammond & Scull's earlier book: J.R.R. Tolkien Artist & Illustrator (first published in 1995). In this new Art of the Hobbit (2011) book many of the illustrations that have already been discussed in the earlier book are revisited, but the text rather focus on the development of the final pieces of Art. I personally like the 3 page wide fold-outs, that enable us to see how the illustrations developed. With its large format, hard cover and slip-case, I think it is a definite item for any Tolkien collector.

Aesthetically stunning and surprising at a time: leafing through it has revealed an astonishing trip throughout Tolkien's studies over his works of a lifetime. It's also great to exploit the book as a unique decorative object.Arrived in just perfect shape!

Seeing Tolkien's original drawings and sketches as he imagined Middle Earth adds to the readers own imagination based on the text. I have never had a copy of the book with drawings, and I love the style he finally settled on for the pictures. The book is protected in a hard cover slip with the drawing shown, and the cover of the book has an etched effect picture of The Elvenking's Gate. A really lovely gift for a Tolkien fan.

If you are familiar with Tolkien you will probably be familiar with many of the finished illustrations in this book, what makes it an essential Tolkien book though is all the sketches and roughs which Tolkien worked through in order to get to the finished illustrations. Add to this informative text and you have a winner. Finally, this book is very well produced, for the price it does have a nice quality feel about it, well worth the price.

Lovely book, its mostly calligraphy but its still an amazing book. It arrived with zero damage and in perfect condition.