The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien – 1966 | Mao China Pirated Edition

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien first appeared in 1937 and was later reissued in large quantities decades later. This curious example includes a Chinese colophon dated 1969, linking it to be a pirated Chinese printing at the height of the Mao Zedong cultural purge; certainly a noteworthy example of undocumented and unauthorized printings of Tolkien.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Hobbit, or there and back again
• Author(s): J.R.R. Tolkien
• Illustrator(s): Tolkien
• Publisher: Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1966 [Guishon Book Company, Zuo Change Printing]
• Edition: Pirated Chinese printing, 1969, copying 1966 American 25th printing
• Format: (8vo), single volume
• Binding: Green cloth
• Size:  8.25 x 5.75 in (21 x 14.6 cm)
• Collation: 317, [2] pp
• Contents Include:
  • Complete English text of The Hobbit

Condition:

Very Good. Green cloth boards firm and intact; mild wear along edges; spine clean. Text block complete and unmarked. “Original” dust jacket frayed at top.

Why Collect This?

• Curious Chinese printing colophon, pirated edition not common to American readership – printed during the height of the Mao Zedong cultural purge.
• Differs significantly in size and layout from the American printing
• “original” dust jacket – noticeably different from the American original
• Undocumented and unauthorized printing of Tolkien

Item Number: #28930