First edition, signed by the illustrator Pauline Baynes. Octavo. Publisher’s orange cloth, lettered and decorated blue, in the “library dustwrapper”, priced at 7s 6d. Signed and dated by Pauline Baynes to the title page, “Pauline Diana Baynes ‘49”.Top edge black. A very good copy in a very good dustwrapper. 
 
The first edition was issued in two dustwrappers; one for the trade priced at 6s, and one for libraries that was price-clipped and repriced at 7s 6d. The remainder of the dustwrapper is identical between the  two states. This is distinguishable from the second impression dustwrapper of 1957 (also priced at 7s 6d.) by the lower panel advertising The Hobbit. In this first edition wrapper, The Hobbit is advertised as being in its fourth impression. In the second impression dustwrapper, The Hobbit is advertised as being in its ninth impression.