A first edition copy of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit is expected to make £50,000-70,000 ($78,435-109,809) at Sotheby's.
The lot is among the highlights of the Library of an English Bibliophile sale in London on June 4.
 The Hobbit was JRR Tolkien's first book set in Middle Earth |
It's inscribed to CM "Kitty" Kilbride, who studied under Tolkien at Leeds University, and is one of a small number of presentation copies given to friends and family.
Her nephew explained that Kitty was "...an invalid all her life and was much cheered by his [Tolkien's] chatty letters and cards...books were given to her as they were published."
Signed and presentation copies sell for significantly more than normal first editions, which in near mint condition achieve sums around the $10,000 mark.
One presentation copy sold for £60,000 ($94,072) in 2008.
An autographed manuscript by Edward Lear for a pictorial nonsense pamphlet is also offered with an identical valuation of £50,000-70,000 ($78,435-109,809).
The work is one of a series of Nonsense Alphabets produced by the author during the mid to late 1800s. This specimen was presented to a friend in Corfu, with whom he stayed for a while.
Lear's status as a much loved and hugely influential writer means his work is in high demand. Another Nonsense Alphabet sold for $78,000 at Christie's in 2005.
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