Who publishes the first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit in 1937?

George Allen & Unwin published the first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit in 1937.

The publisher’s chairman, Stanley Unwin, gave the manuscript to his ten-year-old son Rayner for an opinion. Rayner’s enthusiastic report helped persuade the firm to publish the book. William Morrow later issued the first American edition in 1938.

The original British edition included illustrations by Tolkien himself, including the dust-jacket design and maps. The book’s success was immediate enough that Unwin asked Tolkien for another story about hobbits. Tolkien’s response eventually developed into The Lord of the Rings rather than a simple children’s sequel.

The company later became Allen & Unwin and eventually part of the modern publishing history associated with Unwin Hyman. Houghton Mifflin was an important American publisher of Tolkien’s books, but it did not publish the first British edition of The Hobbit.