What was the name of the publishing company that first released The Hobbit in 1937?

George Allen & Unwin first released The Hobbit in 1937.

The London publishing house accepted Tolkien’s manuscript after Stanley Unwin’s son Rayner read it and produced a favorable report. George Allen & Unwin published the first edition on 21 September 1937, with illustrations and maps by Tolkien himself. The book sold strongly and quickly gained attention beyond its intended young readership.

Its success created the commercial pressure for a sequel. Tolkien initially supplied material connected with his wider mythology, but the project evolved into The Lord of the Rings, a much longer and more serious work. George Allen & Unwin also published that epic in the United Kingdom.

The company later became part of Unwin Hyman and ultimately contributed to the publishing history of Allen & Unwin. It should not be confused with Penguin Books, which issued later editions but did not publish the original 1937 edition.