PLEASE help.. Signed copy of the Hobbit

If the year is stated and it is after 1973 then it is not JRRT's signature.

If you can tell us a bit more about the book/edition we might be able to give you a rough idea of value. A photo would be helpful!

ok i'll try and put a photo now, yeah thats what i thought although the signiture looks really authetic?

CJ
will post photo now

i dont understand? can u elaborate?

how does it help?

thanks i found it, but it doesnt explain why mine has a signature? unless tolkien signed some 'labels' and they were stuck in after his death?
i dont understand?

The signature does look quite good and may be genuine, though others here might disagree with me.

The book itself is worth only a pound or two. The signature, if genuine, maybe worth up to a thousand maybe.

The big trouble is that it is in a book from the early 1980s which raises big doubts about its authenticity. How did it get there I wonder. I have had a quick look around but did not find any connections between JRRT and anybody called Forrester.

Is the label an adhesive label, or is it a page from another book pasted in? Are the brown spots (foxing) genuine, aging of the paper, or printed as part of the design?

yeah i couldnt find any relationship betweethe two i didnt know what forrester meant either

its not a page from another book, looks more like a large adhesive sticker/label thing.
I had a look at other signatures on the web and its exactly the same though i understand he rarely signed things unless for family and friends so i dont have a clue, though the colour is genuine i didnt even know it was called foxing!!! but yeah they are genuine, its in really good condition though.

And just to be clear i'm definately not a hoaxer or anything like that i'm a 21 year old fashion designer who knows nothing about tolkien etc, until i read the web today, though i have read his works.

p.s i bought it from a charity shop today, which is why i'm trying to find out about it,

I personally don't think that this is genuine for the reasons that Deagol mentioned.

Tolkien signatures are a minefield, lots of very convincing fakes exist, as an example if you look at this copy of the Lord of the Rings, the note looks very convincing, but I have the exact same copy of that note and it is very hard to tell that it is not a genuine signature.

You could and try and sell your book as a 'signed' book but the lack of provenance would put off any serious bidders. I think you should keep it, with the belief that it may be signed by Tolkien, but you will never know for certain.

Beren, another regular, on this board posted an article on his website about signatures and it is well worth reading if you have not already seen it.

http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/fascimilesignatures.htm