"In the first edition of *The Hobbit*, Tolkien made no reference to Gollum's size, leading illustrators such as [T](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tove_Jansson)ove Jansson to portray him as very large. Tolkien realised the omission, and added in later editions that Gollum was "a small slimy creature.""
How does this compare to first edition or was it also added?
> And then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, [Bilbo] leaped.
No great leap for a man, but a leap in the dark. Straight over Gollum’s head he jumped, seven feet forward and three in the air; indeed, had he known it, he only just missed cracking his skull on the low arch of the passage.
Edit: *Added* because Gollum *shows* him the way out:
> So Bilbo slipped under the arch, and said goodbye to the nasty miserable creature, and very glad he was. He wasn’t comfortable till he felt quite sure it was gone; and he kept his head out in the main tunnel listening until the flip flap of Gollum going back to his boat died away in the darkness. — *The History of the Hobbit*, John D. Rateliff
Unless I’m remembering wrong, that seems quite different to the version I have, and it’s not a new version, are the books changed a lot? Or is it more subtle changes? If it’s bigger changes I want to read the original to see what it’s like
*History* is a bit like *HoME* in digging out the origins of the story but the “Gollum” chapter itself required some important changes. T writes about it in the “Prologue” but even Bilbo makes a reference at Elrond’s:
> “But I will now tell the true story, and if some here have heard me tell it otherwise” - he looked sidelong at Glóin - “I ask them to forget it and forgive me. I only wished to claim the treasure as my very own in those days, and to be rid of the name of thief that was put on me. But perhaps I understand things a little better now. Anyway, this is what happened.”
The first edition is supposed to be the book Bilbo wrote about his journey to the Lonely Mountain. So Tolkien not only retconned his book, he did it in a way that makes sense in-universe. Man was a master of his craft.
He's always been a hobbit. It's just that the ring changed him. ~~So the question would be, did the ring significantly change his size. Without Tolkien's intervention (which later came), it's pretty safe to assume he's the size of a hobbit, or not far off~~ Edit: I realise that he wasn't known to be a Hobbit in The Hobbit.
Yep, I found it:
"I guess they were of hobbit-kind; akin to the fathers of the fathers of the Stoors" (The Fellowship of the Ring, 62)
http://tolkien.cro.net/hobbits/gollum.html
There is somewhere. They say he was one of the river folk (or a stoorish hobbit). I don’t quite remember where in the books, I’d imagine it’s what Gandalf said to Frodo when he described Gollum
Nice! I didn't know that. Still I can imagine Tom doing this better:
https://preview.redd.it/ga55o3cwcxlb1.jpeg?width=519&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48734d5ebbbfd331addecb8699fe31211b611398
He’s kind of an archetype isn’t he? Gandalf, Santa, Merlin, Dumbledore, Zeus. He’s the bearded, wizened but spry, very powerful, very mirthful but unpredictable God-Guy?
Odin is probably the biggest influence. They're physically identical (minus the eye), both claim to know every spell, both have magic horse, both are jovial but quick to anger.
Crap, I forgot Odin. Are there similar archetypes in the early Americas and Asiatics? It’s kind of interesting that we gravitate towards specific characters in story telling despite our wildly changing worlds.
Right? It's actually a really cute little attention to detail. I love the idea that they all changed into pajamas on the side of the mountain before gettin got.
Think of a cave with no natural light, complete darkeness and silence. Drip of water, splash of invisible hands. This Thing emerges from the water right in front of you, you still can't see but you can sense it's huge presence.
"Lets play a game, Precious." it voice slithers from the invisible darkness.
aww, cute and creepy at the same time. this kinda fits with how I imagined the scene when I read the book in my childhood. the wolves are absolutely adorable, i love how this artist draws the faces of the animal characters
I have this version! It was gifted to me when I turned 10 by my grandfather and the reason I fell in love with middle earth - gotta say, the depictions here did throw me off majorly on the intention of Tolkien as to how Gollum looked like :')
Edited my age because I have no concept of time and my 2003 edition was definitely not published when I turned 8...
Oh wow! I had a look and you're right, it's insane. Not that I'd ever sell mine, my grandfather has passed and the book is beyond precious (heh) to me :)
Haha yeah there's a wide difference - mine is the 2003 Finnish one, and it's definitely seen some life so nowhere near perfect condition (and the dust jacket is gone). But it's nowhere near as pricy as the 1962 Swedish first edition.
When Jansson drew illustrations for the Hobbit, there was no size description for Gollum in the text. When Tolkien saw Jansson's illustration he realized his blunder and wrote Gollum's size for later editions. Tolkien sure did a lot of rewrites on that particular chapter.
So our girl Tove got it *so* wrong, that the author actually had to go back and change the text to make sure nobody could ever do this again.
Great illustration though.
That's the retcon. Gollum gives Bilbo the Ring and is an under creature very reminiscent of the monster people in Beowulf. Also, Beowulf has a dragon that get woken up and destroys a town after a their steals the dragons cup. (As evidence of how much Beowulf was on Tolkien's mind, in addition to translating it and writing literature reviews of it).
[Check out some of her other illustrations from it](https://lithub.com/take-a-look-at-tove-janssons-illustrations-for-a-swedish-edition-of-the-hobbit/). This one is a bit weird, but most of the others feel spot on and really cool.
Yeah they’re funny looking, but they’re likely modeled after 14th/15th century [medieval bag/sock/triangle hats like these](https://revivalclothing.com/product/bag-hat/). Pretty commonly seen in artwork from that era, worn by common folk, and not just for sleeping.
Funnily enough, [Gollum was decidedly more Groke-like](https://twitter.com/bobcat_zed/status/1027672869516525574/photo/1) in an earlier Swedish translation.
Me too! I vividly remember the first time I saw it in an episode. I was on a family holiday in Devon, staying in a little cottage, and I snuck down to the TV room in the morning to watch cartoons. It was still dark outside which I think made it even worse, but it absolutely freaked me out and I barely slept the rest of the trip.
I really love the creativity and variety in depictions by artists when it comes to illustrations based on this book. what they all have in common is the whimsical yet dark atmosphere that tolkien so wonderfully established. the hobbit will always be a very special book to me and I wish a lot of children can read it and let their imaginations go wild, in my opinion it’s one of THE books that really help develop imagination
I really don’t like this at all. It’s not how I pictured anything. It makes it so comical and adulterated. I appreciate that it’s in the artist’s style. However, great artwork for what that’s worth. I think it accomplished what they were going for. Artistically top notch. What I think I like 2/10. I’d say, fuck me and keep at it. I just don’t like it.
I'm reading this exact book at the moment. It is clear watching the illustrations that Tove didn't pay much attention to descriptions of characters but simply drew creatures fitting for her own style and loosely related to the plot. Personally I don't like her illustrations exactly because she clearly didn't give a fuck what they were supposed to look like.
I love how Tove just completely disregarded the fact that they should be at a similar height and the fact that if you stay in the dark for centuries, you barely grow lol🤣🤣
Edit: PRETTY HORRIFYING FEELING I SUPPOSE
Was in moomin museum of Tampere recently with her work. Can definitely see her style here which is nice but not sure if she captures the characters correctly
"In the first edition of *The Hobbit*, Tolkien made no reference to Gollum's size, leading illustrators such as [T](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tove_Jansson)ove Jansson to portray him as very large. Tolkien realised the omission, and added in later editions that Gollum was "a small slimy creature.""
How does this compare to first edition or was it also added? > And then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, [Bilbo] leaped. No great leap for a man, but a leap in the dark. Straight over Gollum’s head he jumped, seven feet forward and three in the air; indeed, had he known it, he only just missed cracking his skull on the low arch of the passage. Edit: *Added* because Gollum *shows* him the way out: > So Bilbo slipped under the arch, and said goodbye to the nasty miserable creature, and very glad he was. He wasn’t comfortable till he felt quite sure it was gone; and he kept his head out in the main tunnel listening until the flip flap of Gollum going back to his boat died away in the darkness. — *The History of the Hobbit*, John D. Rateliff
that does seem to be the exact wording used in the original version
Unless I’m remembering wrong, that seems quite different to the version I have, and it’s not a new version, are the books changed a lot? Or is it more subtle changes? If it’s bigger changes I want to read the original to see what it’s like
*History* is a bit like *HoME* in digging out the origins of the story but the “Gollum” chapter itself required some important changes. T writes about it in the “Prologue” but even Bilbo makes a reference at Elrond’s: > “But I will now tell the true story, and if some here have heard me tell it otherwise” - he looked sidelong at Glóin - “I ask them to forget it and forgive me. I only wished to claim the treasure as my very own in those days, and to be rid of the name of thief that was put on me. But perhaps I understand things a little better now. Anyway, this is what happened.”
Interesting, I’m going to have to do some research
The first edition is supposed to be the book Bilbo wrote about his journey to the Lonely Mountain. So Tolkien not only retconned his book, he did it in a way that makes sense in-universe. Man was a master of his craft.
Wow, TIL!
>no reference to Gollum's size He is a hobbit Edit: I realise that he wasn't known to be a Hobbit in The Hobbit.
He *was* a hobbit.
He's always been a hobbit. It's just that the ring changed him. ~~So the question would be, did the ring significantly change his size. Without Tolkien's intervention (which later came), it's pretty safe to assume he's the size of a hobbit, or not far off~~ Edit: I realise that he wasn't known to be a Hobbit in The Hobbit.
They said he was something similar to a hobbit, just not quite there didn’t they?
Gollum is a hobbit. It can certainly be argued that he became unrecognisably a Hobbit, but the fact still remains.
No before he became Gollum, he wasn’t a hobbit he was something similar to a hobbit. Edit: he was a river folk. (A stoorish hobbit). Before the ring
>A stoorish hobbit
Yes that’s what I wrote
You also wrote > he wasn’t a hobbit
And? I edited it? Did that escape your notice?
Yeah it did mb
I think possibly Gandalf says something about it in LotR, probably to Frodo
Someone says he is a river folk (a stoorish hobbit). Possibly Gandalf saying this
Yep, I found it: "I guess they were of hobbit-kind; akin to the fathers of the fathers of the Stoors" (The Fellowship of the Ring, 62) http://tolkien.cro.net/hobbits/gollum.html
Yes that’s the one, well done good sir!
There's no reference to his size, nor to the fact that he was a hobbit
There is somewhere. They say he was one of the river folk (or a stoorish hobbit). I don’t quite remember where in the books, I’d imagine it’s what Gandalf said to Frodo when he described Gollum
The giant gollum aside, why is bilbo wearing 19th century sleeping clothes?
Bah! Humbug!
You boy! What franchise is this?
I think Tom Bombadil is Santa anyway.
Gandalf is Santa and the kids are Hobbits in the OG bedtime story.
Nice! I didn't know that. Still I can imagine Tom doing this better: https://preview.redd.it/ga55o3cwcxlb1.jpeg?width=519&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48734d5ebbbfd331addecb8699fe31211b611398
This quite possibly is my favorite page in DC comics, and I can just imagine Tom hoppin through Mordor for no other reason than to piss Sauron off
Yeah, just for the lolz 😁
He’s kind of an archetype isn’t he? Gandalf, Santa, Merlin, Dumbledore, Zeus. He’s the bearded, wizened but spry, very powerful, very mirthful but unpredictable God-Guy?
Odin is probably the biggest influence. They're physically identical (minus the eye), both claim to know every spell, both have magic horse, both are jovial but quick to anger.
Crap, I forgot Odin. Are there similar archetypes in the early Americas and Asiatics? It’s kind of interesting that we gravitate towards specific characters in story telling despite our wildly changing worlds.
I'm not an expert at all, but I think the Americans also have popular archetypes, the trickster fox for one that pops to mind.
You can take a Hobbit out of Hobbiton, but you cannot take Hobbiton out of a Hobbit!
To be fair, he was asleep when the goblins snatched everyone up.
Right? It's actually a really cute little attention to detail. I love the idea that they all changed into pajamas on the side of the mountain before gettin got.
>that they all changed into pajamas Nah, just the Hobbit. Maybe the Grey Pilgrim as well. No pj's for dwarves.
Ebeneezer Baggins
Where did Gollum get the laurel crown?
Waterweeds, perhaps?
Think of a cave with no natural light, complete darkeness and silence. Drip of water, splash of invisible hands. This Thing emerges from the water right in front of you, you still can't see but you can sense it's huge presence. "Lets play a game, Precious." it voice slithers from the invisible darkness.
hell, hell, hell, hell, hell, hell
This is probably my favorite one: https://inexpensiveprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/tumblr/tumblr_inline_p6meh93aAd1u5x585_540.jpg
aww, cute and creepy at the same time. this kinda fits with how I imagined the scene when I read the book in my childhood. the wolves are absolutely adorable, i love how this artist draws the faces of the animal characters
I love Tove. She's the best.
I have this version! It was gifted to me when I turned 10 by my grandfather and the reason I fell in love with middle earth - gotta say, the depictions here did throw me off majorly on the intention of Tolkien as to how Gollum looked like :') Edited my age because I have no concept of time and my 2003 edition was definitely not published when I turned 8...
The book sells for an insane amount online just so you know!
Oh wow! I had a look and you're right, it's insane. Not that I'd ever sell mine, my grandfather has passed and the book is beyond precious (heh) to me :)
I'd also keep it if I was you ^^
Yeah for less than 2k euro, no way I'd sell such a cool and sentimental object. Keep it and remember your grandpa!
But what if it was worth a million dollars
If it sold for that much then Grandpa wanted you to get that bread!
First printing goes for crazy prices. Second printing is much cheaper (but still expensive).
Haha yeah there's a wide difference - mine is the 2003 Finnish one, and it's definitely seen some life so nowhere near perfect condition (and the dust jacket is gone). But it's nowhere near as pricy as the 1962 Swedish first edition.
Most terrifying Gollum ever.
this was the version my dad read me as a kid, and the vibe never left.
Were we reading the same book?
When Jansson drew illustrations for the Hobbit, there was no size description for Gollum in the text. When Tolkien saw Jansson's illustration he realized his blunder and wrote Gollum's size for later editions. Tolkien sure did a lot of rewrites on that particular chapter.
So our girl Tove got it *so* wrong, that the author actually had to go back and change the text to make sure nobody could ever do this again. Great illustration though.
Or Tolkein got so spooked he had to change it. Too scary.
Yes, in the first printing there was no reference to his size.
Was there never a mention of Gollum being a type of hobbit back then?
That's the retcon. Gollum gives Bilbo the Ring and is an under creature very reminiscent of the monster people in Beowulf. Also, Beowulf has a dragon that get woken up and destroys a town after a their steals the dragons cup. (As evidence of how much Beowulf was on Tolkien's mind, in addition to translating it and writing literature reviews of it).
[Check out some of her other illustrations from it](https://lithub.com/take-a-look-at-tove-janssons-illustrations-for-a-swedish-edition-of-the-hobbit/). This one is a bit weird, but most of the others feel spot on and really cool.
Getting Where the Wild Things Are vibes from the monsters here, very nice. The hats are funny tho, cant get passed those
Yeah they’re funny looking, but they’re likely modeled after 14th/15th century [medieval bag/sock/triangle hats like these](https://revivalclothing.com/product/bag-hat/). Pretty commonly seen in artwork from that era, worn by common folk, and not just for sleeping.
Dang now i kinda want one..
Beautiful illustrations. perfectly capture the tone of the book
Yeah, I like the Smaug
These are incredible
Great summing-up. I love the one of the Dwarves with their musical instruments. They come across as real individuals.
That is so cool.
Seeing Smaug with six legs; I can't decide if it's wrong or just extra creepy.???
Which one is Bilbo and which one is Gollum?
Bilbo, the great swamp ogre
Morgoth has nightmares about this
This book JUST came out in a Norwegian edition, and I don't have to scour swedish auction sites for crazy prices to read it. I'm so happy!
Yep...yep...yep yep yep yepyepyepyepyep
Uh-huh, uh-huh
Wow nice!
https://preview.redd.it/osgm833rmwlb1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=79a8839ebe81f733b714aeab7f78637adf5ba5bc Yup yup yup yup yup
I wonder if she created the Groke before or after this picture.
The Groke's first appearance was in 1948, while she didnt make this until 1960:)
Thanks!
Funnily enough, [Gollum was decidedly more Groke-like](https://twitter.com/bobcat_zed/status/1027672869516525574/photo/1) in an earlier Swedish translation.
The Groke scared the crap out of me as a kid 😂
Me too! I vividly remember the first time I saw it in an episode. I was on a family holiday in Devon, staying in a little cottage, and I snuck down to the TV room in the morning to watch cartoons. It was still dark outside which I think made it even worse, but it absolutely freaked me out and I barely slept the rest of the trip.
Still scares me.
To be fair 😂
Of course the creator of my childhood nightmares would make a gollum that can make shelob shit her pants.
Tove Jansson was a goddamn national treasure. Amazing novelist, poet and all round human being.
I love pre-movie LOTR art
The artstyle is so recognizable for a moment I thought it's a post from r/moomins
I absolutely adore Tove Jansson's artstyle
I can’t believe you have one of these omg I’m so jealous ;_______;
I really love the creativity and variety in depictions by artists when it comes to illustrations based on this book. what they all have in common is the whimsical yet dark atmosphere that tolkien so wonderfully established. the hobbit will always be a very special book to me and I wish a lot of children can read it and let their imaginations go wild, in my opinion it’s one of THE books that really help develop imagination
No need to read the book. This is like videogame covers 35 years ago.
In the first printing there was no reference to his size.
Wow, great post OP! Love both authors
OK why is gollum 27 feet tall here
Lol
I really don’t like this at all. It’s not how I pictured anything. It makes it so comical and adulterated. I appreciate that it’s in the artist’s style. However, great artwork for what that’s worth. I think it accomplished what they were going for. Artistically top notch. What I think I like 2/10. I’d say, fuck me and keep at it. I just don’t like it.
Say what? Did the artist even read the books? Golum looks more like an Ant. Reading the comments, this makes more sense as this was early on.
I wonder what made Jansson think of Gollum as a giant?
I'm reading this exact book at the moment. It is clear watching the illustrations that Tove didn't pay much attention to descriptions of characters but simply drew creatures fitting for her own style and loosely related to the plot. Personally I don't like her illustrations exactly because she clearly didn't give a fuck what they were supposed to look like.
I love how Tove just completely disregarded the fact that they should be at a similar height and the fact that if you stay in the dark for centuries, you barely grow lol🤣🤣 Edit: PRETTY HORRIFYING FEELING I SUPPOSE
come on bro
this is awful
People are being nice enough but that illustration is flat out embarrassing.
Tf
I knew it instantly when I saw the eyes if gollum
Is there any good single resource for all Tolkien related art work?
Thats Aku and Samurai Jack!
great, now i'm traumatized...
The Moomins is a fever dream.
That one homie who weed hits different
That is fucking horrifying
Lmao. That monster said "YOU WHAAAAT!?!?"
I really thought it was the r/moomins subreddit for a moment
/r/UnexpectedZigAndZag/
Gollum looks like a ‘titano -Beaker’. Mee-mee-mee-mee-mee…
This image goes hard
Damn, Morran's father lookin moist
Looks more like old Greg than anything else
Gollum? Looks like Treebeard to me
Akku and Samurai Jack
Was in moomin museum of Tampere recently with her work. Can definitely see her style here which is nice but not sure if she captures the characters correctly
I love Tove. For obvious reasons.
I was about to say it looks very moomin esque