Fans of The Hobbit will have lots to look forward next year. Not only will they get Part 1 of Peter Jackson’s adaptation, but new sketches by author J.R.R. Tolkien will be published for the first time!

The Independent reports:

Previously unseen illustrations produced for The Hobbit by its author, J R R Tolkien, will be published for the first time this week. The paintings and sketches, which were not used when the seminal children’s novel came out in 1937, were recently discovered in the Bodleian Library, in Oxford.

The pen and ink drawings and a series of watercolours, three of which are reproduced here, were discovered by researchers in material bequeathed by the author’s estate to the library in 1979.

They were looking for material to mark next year’s 75th anniversary of Tolkien’s second book. The illustrations, together with the long-awaited film version of the book due to appear in cinemas next year, are likely to stimulate renewed interest in The Hobbit.

The images show how Tolkien took his distinctive style and developed it into the familiar illustrations that adorn the covers of his bestselling books. Experts say that when producing illustrations for The Hobbit, Tolkien borrowed heavily from those of an earlier book, Roverandom, which he wrote for his son Michael. The picture “The White Dragon Pursues Roverandom” bears a clear resemblance to “The Lonely Mountain” later used in The Hobbit.

Read more from The Independent at this link. At this time none of the sketches are online, but we’ll update you when we see ’em.