Die Kunst des Hobbit

We noticed this week on Internet sites that a German translation of our Art of The Hobbit is now available: Die Kunst des Hobbit von J.R.R. Tolkien, published by Klett-Cotta. The relevant page on the publisher’s website may be found here. The translator is Susanne Held. And since beginning to write this short post, we have received a copy of the book, and can report that it is physically similar to the HarperCollins edition in its trim size, layout, gatefolds, binding, and slipcase. Although the internal title is a straightforward translation from the English, the cover title adds alle Bilder (‘all pictures’) before von J.R.R. Tolkien, presumably to make it clear to the prospective buyer that Tolkien is responsible for the art and is not just the author of The Hobbit. Images of the slipcase on websites such as klett-cotta.de and amazon.de evidently show a preliminary design, with the subtitle (or continuation of the title) on only one line in the title block, similar to the title block on the English slipcase. The published book has alle Bilder von J.R.R. Tolkien on two lines.

Image: Detail from the slipcase art (central part).