Dig These Never Before Seen Illustrations J.R.R. Tolkien Drew for The Hobbit

The seminal fantasy story The Hobbit turns 75 this year, and Harper Collins did what most publishing companies do to celebrate anniversaries: They began work on a special edition. But in the course of researching the material, they uncovered a veritable dragon horde of never before seen sketches and paintings by author J.R.R. Tolkien.

Though Tolkien’s art graced the original printing of the books, and has been reused since, it turns out that he did numerous alternative versions of illustrations prior to the books publication. Many of these have simply been moldering in the Bodleian Library at Oxford since then. But now, you (yes, you!) can see them for yourself. Read on below for more images of Middle Earth, as imagined by the master himself.

(Geek Tyrant via BuzzFeed)

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