TCG Letter #601 / Carpenter Letter #225

Puffin Books, via Margaret S. Clark, had requested the rights to publish a paperback edition of The Hobbit on 30 November.^{We do not know if this was a letter, so there is no separate entry for it at this time. See Bibliography p. 26.[1]} After hearing of this from Rayner, Tolkien responds saying that he is not anxious to "cheapen" the book, but cannot pass up an opportunity for income if Unwin thinks this worth pursuing. He closes with a dig at puffins and pengiuns (the birds).