Happy Birthday, Hobbit.

Tolkien, Smaug Flies Round the Mountain, 1937 

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy had its time in the spotlight, with three epic movies, several computer and board games and a handful of albums. By comparison, its predecessor, The Hobbit, has hidden largely in the shadows. Today marks the 75 anniversary of that humble, hobbity beginning.

Read the rest of this great article at Smithsonian Magazine.

See Tolkien's original drawings for The Hobbit, here.