KEY POINTS:
LONDON - A rare first edition signed copy of JRR Tolkien's classic novel The Hobbit estimated to be worth about A$65,000 ($74,566) will go under the hammer in London next month.
Considered by some collectors to be the ultimate prize for Tolkien fans, the book was published in 1937 and features a range of black and white sketches by the world-famous author.
Also up for grabs will be a copy of the first foreign language edition of The Hobbit, translated into Swedish in 1947, and the last known photograph ever taken of Tolkien.
Auction house Bonhams estimates the much-sought after book could attract bids of between £20,000 and £30,000 ($50,025 and ($75,037) from collectors around the world.
Tolkien signed the book for his friend Elaine Griffiths, who had a hand in the author's publishing success.
He originally wrote the story for his children, but Griffiths was so impressed when she read his typescript that she recommended it to publisher George Allen and Unwin which snapped it up.
The Hobbit, which follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins in his quest to reclaim treasures from the fearsome dragon Smaug, was Tolkien's most successful book and has been translated into nearly 50 languages.
The 1500 copies of the first English edition sold out almost as soon as they hit the shelves 71 years ago.
Since then, more than 100 million copies have been sold, with the United States Library Association declaring the novel to be the most significant children's book of the century.
While Tolkien's sequel to The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, enjoyed massive success as a book and Hollywood blockbuster trilogy, negotiations are still continuing about whether Bilbo and his hobbit friends will make it to the big screen.
The Swedish edition of The Hobbit up for sale is signed by the author to Griffiths and expected to attract bids of between £400 and £800 each.
Fans are also expected to stump up more than £400 to get their hands on a poignant photograph of Tolkien taken by his grandson Michael on August 9, 1973.
The photo, believed to be the last ever taken of the author, shows Tolkien in the Oxford Botanical Gardens leaning against his favourite tree, a black pine he nicknamed Laocoon.
The picture was a present to Griffiths from Tolkien's daughter Priscilla, who wrote on the back, For Elaine with love from Priscilla.
The Tolkien books and photograph will be auctioned on March 18.
- AAP
