The Tolkien Shop

Paperback. Illustrated by Tolkien with three watercolours and two drawings. Tolkien wrote this story about a dog that went to the moon in 1925. With an introduction by Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond.*

HarperCollins, 2008. 1st edition. Hardback.

This de luxe collector's edition includes the first edition text and features an exclusive colour frontispiece illustration on a fold-out sheet. The book is quarterbound, with a specially commissioned motif stamped in three foils on the front board, and is presented in a matching slipcase.*

HarperCollins, 2007. 1st edition in this form. Hardback (no dustjacket issued) in slipcase.

A brand new edition of the long unavailable children's story, written and illustrated by the author of The Hobbit and Letters from father Christmas, with newly scanned manuscript pages and redesigned text. Professor J.R.R. Tolkien invented and illustrated the book of Mr Bliss's adventures for his own children when they were very young.

The story is reproduced here exactly as he created it -- handwritten with lots of detailed and uproarious colour pictures. This is a complete and highly imaginative tale of eccentricity. Mr Bliss, a man notable for his immensely tall hats and for the girabbit in his garden, takes the whimsical decision to buy a motor car.

But his first drive to visit friends quickly becomes a catalogue of disasters. Some of these could be blamed on Mr Bliss's style of driving, but even he could not anticipate being hijacked by three bears. As for what happened next -- the readers, whether young or old, will want to discover for themselves.

Thankfully all ended well, and even the yellow motor car with red wheels (to which Mr Bliss has taken an understandable and great dislike), came in useful at the end!*

HarperCollins, 2011. 1st edition thus. Hardback. Illustrated.

The first ever trade edition of Tolkien’s illustrated tale about the eccentric Mr Bliss, a man notable for his immensely tall hats and for the girabbit in his garden, whose whimsical decision to buy a motor car quickly becomes a catalogue of disasters.

Professor J.R.R. Tolkien invented and illustrated the book of Mr Bliss’s adventures for his own children when they were very young. The book was handwritten with lots of detailed and uproarious colour pictures.

This is a complete and highly imaginative tale of eccentricity. Mr Bliss, a man notable for his immensely tall hats and for the girabbit in his garden, takes the whimsical decision to buy a motor car. But his first drive to visit friends quickly becomes a catalogue of disasters. Some of these could be blamed on Mr Bliss’s style of driving, but even he could not anticipate being hijacked by three bears. As for what happened next – the readers, whether young or old, will want to discover for themselves.

Redesigned using new archival scans of Tolkien’s original drawings, MR BLISS is presented for the first time in a conventional trade format.*

ADC Publications Ltd, Moreton in Marsh, 2009. Hardback. First Edition. Beautiful collection of short stories from a recently discovered notebook / scrapbook of Hilary Tolkien describing the childhhood adventures of himself and his brother JRR Tolkien. 80 pages including wonderful colour illustrations by Jef Murray. A must have for Tolkien fans, helps complete the biography, contains previously unseen extracts from letters by JRR Tolkien, his father, photo's of the brothers and family etc. Expertly and emotionally edited by Angela Gardner.

Signed on the title page by editor Angela Gardner and illustrator Jef Murray.*