This collection of children’s stories includes the first chapter of The Hobbit - ‘An Unexpected Party’ illustrated by Robert J. Lee.
Tolkien himself famously described these illustrations as “vulgar, stupid and entirely out of keeping with the text”.
Very much a product of the times, the illustrations are indeed playful and a bit psychedelic. But personally I rather like Robert J. Lee’s pictures - and the fact that they have Dwalin the dwarf with an actual blue beard.
Title: The Children’s Treasury of Literature In Colour
Editors: Bryna and Louis Untermeyer
Published by: Paul Hamlyn Ltd
Year of Publication : 1967
Edition: 1st edition 1966 This impression 1967
Hardback with dustjacket
There’s some more information about this book over at Tolkien Gateway
See also Tolkien and the Illustrations of Robert J. Lee by Morgan Thomsen
And Douglas A Anderson has even more detail over on his blog at Tolkien and Fantasy
And in the meantime, here’s a few of the actual illustrations so you can see what the fuss was about.
