Hobbit -first edition version?

[Warren]

When you read the annotated version it frequently mentions
"this passage was different in the 1937 edition"
I'd like to read the original version.
Except that I can't seem to find an electronic edition.
(the first edition print version runs around $50,000)
Doesn't anyone know where you can get the 1937 version
(ebook) ?

[Kevin]

I visit Ebay every week to look at their Antiquarian & Collectible selections of Tolkien books, and I see them every once in a while with the cheapest being around $1000. The second editions are a lot cheaper depending on the printing any where from $100-$700, but the second edition paperback or the first few printing of the Balantine Books edition with the lion on the cover are relatively cheap.

[Sean]

Warren wrote: "When you read the annotated version it frequently mentions
"this passage was different in the 1937 edition"
I'd like to read the original version.
Except that I can't seem to find an electronic e..."

Every version of The Hobbit printed since WWII has contained the revised text, so the first edition is the only place to find the original text, and I doubt anyone's going to run a $50,000 book through the scanner. The best you can do is a dead tree copy of The History of the Hobbit.

[Warren]

I was afraid of that. I've tried checking the likely sources to no avail.
The Tolkien estate has a web page. (http://www.tolkienestate.com/website/)
However since the page states that they "hope to have the
rest of the web page up in 2009"
I'm not holding my breath.

[Mikhail]

Sean wrote: "Warren wrote: "When you read the annotated version it frequently mentions
"this passage was different in the 1937 edition"
I'd like to read the original version.
Except that I can't seem to find ..."

Sean, could you please explain about your phrase " is a dead tree copy". I am from Russia and I do not exactly understand the meaning of this phrase. You want to say that "The history of the hobbit" edited somehow and doesn't match the 1-st impression of the 1-st edition?

[Kevin]

Mikhail wrote: "Sean wrote: "Warren wrote: "When you read the annotated version it frequently mentions
"this passage was different in the 1937 edition"
I'd like to read the original version.
Except that I can't ..."

"A dead tree copy" means a paper copy of a book as opposed to an e-book. Paper is made of wood and you need to chop down a tree to get wood, so paper = dead tree.

[Mikhail]

KevinB wrote: "Mikhail wrote: "Sean wrote: "Warren wrote: "When you read the annotated version it frequently mentions
"this passage was different in the 1937 edition"
I'd like to read the original version.
Exce..."

How silly of me 8))) it is obvious. Anyway thank's a lot, I have no idea before this moment that I can find somewhere the manuscript of Hobbit in modern publication

[Joe Informatico]

Sean wrote: "the first edition is the only place to find the original text, and I doubt anyone's going to run a $50,000 book through the scanner."

Check back in 2043. By then, barring any (sadly likely) changes in international copyright guidelines, The Hobbit will be in the public domain and there will be no legal barriers to digitization. Or, if Canada continues to resist WIPO guidelines, we might have it by 2023.

[Warren]

Appreciate the feedback.
I checked with theTolkien foundation.
They pass all such question to the publisher.
So I emailed them. Still no reply.
They'll probably too busy counting their geld from the movie.
I expect that they'll get around to 'reissuing" the original book.
Much like they do with the "directors cut" for movies.

[Mapleson]

If you are thinking about Chapter 5 (Riddles in the Dark), which was the main point of revision, there is an online resource at
http://www.ringgame.net/riddles.html. Depending where you are located, you could try a university or reference library.