First edition. Octavo. Bound by Bayntun Riviere in full green morocco, with a gilt device of Smaug to the upper cover, double gilt frames to each cover and to the spine compartments, five raised bands and gilt lettering to the spine. All edges gilt. Signed by the binders to the turn-in. The original endpapers have been preserved and are bound in at the front and rear of the book. The original cloth covers are preserved also, and are bound in at the rear. Housed in a green cloth slipcase with a green morocco trim, also made by Bayntun Riviere. A fine, clean copy. The first edition of The Hobbit, one of the most influential works of imaginative literature of the twentieth century, one of only 1500 copies printed on 21st September 1937.