The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and Other Verses from the Red Book

London: George Allen & Unwin, 1962 With color and black and white illustrations and head-and-tailpieces by Pauline Baynes. First edition, first printing. Publisher's pictorial paper-covered boards, with a whimsical wraparound multi-colored oceanic illustration, lettered in black; in its matching original dust jacket, with earliest 13s 6d price to front flap. Near fine book, with light wear to spine ends and corners, a tiny nick to top edge of front board, and ownership inscription in pencil to front free endpaper; good unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine, shallow chipping to spine ends, a small hole to spine (text unaffected), a sizeable chip to bottom edge of front panel, light edgewear, a bit of staining to verso of spine, a couple of brown tape residue marks to verso, and lightly nicked corners. Overall, a solid copy, internally clean. This collection contains 16 poems by Tolkien, presented as verses from the Red Book of Westmarch, a fictional hobbit-written manuscript, whose contributors include Bilbo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Frodo Baggins, and other distinguished hobbits. Tom Bombadil, about whom "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" and "Bombadil Goes Boating" are written, is an enigmatic figure in hobbit history, referred to by Tolkien as "Master of wood, water, and hill." He makes appearances in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. A notable poem in the collection is "Sea-Bell," also known as "Frodo's Dreme," which poet W. H. Auden praised in a letter to Tolkien as his "finest," to which Tolkien responded, "That really made me wag my tail.". Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included. (Inventory #: JRRT024)