Into the Wardrobe

Now, this is cool. I just found a site with all of Tove Jansson's illustrations for the 1962 Swedish edition of The Hobbit.

Check them out, anyone. I'm curious what the rest of you think of them.



This might not mean much to most of you, so let me give you a little bit of background.

First, this was the edition of The Hobbit I read first, when I was about 7. I hadn't seen most of those pictures again for over 20 years. It's a huge nostalgia kick.

Second, Tove Jansson was a highly celebrated Swedish/Finnish author and illustrator of children's fantasy, most famous for the Moomintroll books (which are terrific, and have incidentally been very well translated into English). It's fascinating to see Middle-Earth illustrated in the style of the Moomins - especially if you love both.

Gollum is so huge! Weird. :/
And the eagles are really scrawny. I doubt those eagles could lift a hobbit, much less a fat dwarf or a tubby wizard!
Those are certainly interesting. I like the style.

I agree with the Nomad. The style is so reminiscient of the old Norse carvings of dwarves and such from their mythology that in fact I think the Professor would tave been quite pleased. These capture the spirit of the narrative quite well, even if the scale of Gollum is incorrect. One does not even learn about that sort of thing conclusively until LotR, and as he sometimes preyed upon the goblins themselves on occasion it might be safe (however erroneous) to assume him larger than they, had one not yet read the later work. This is a '62 edition, though, and I think Tolkien may well have had a chance to see these illustrations before he sailed into the West (1972, wasn't it?).

Oh, look! The are out!