In coming to the end of this series, I’ll look at editions of The Hobbit that were published in former Eastern Bloc countries.

In Part 2 of this series I speculated that the Russian translation may have used for an early Polish edition instead of Tolkien’s original English language one, hence the all-over hairy feet. But a friend pointed out that other languages, such as Japanese, also don’t have separate words for legs and feet. That may have been true for the countries below; although influenced by Russia, they needn’t have used the original Russian translation for their own. Nevertheless, there are visual similarities between them.

A Czech edition showing Russian style hairy feet AND hairy arms, like a li’l wood critter. (That must be some pretty potent weed in the pipe Bilbo’s smoking… potent enough for him to dream the crescent moon is tangled in the branches of the tree.)  Smaug belches fire in the distance. It’s cute, but not what Tolkien himself had in mind, I think.

Since I mentioned problems with translation, I wonder if the translator of this book substituted “legs / feet” with “limbs” — hence the hair on both.

One of the most infamously out-there editions of The Hobbit ever published, this Czech Hobbit features crude, childlike drawings and typefaces that, for all their primitiveness, collectively create a feel of motion and excitement. But what are a bunch of fossils doing up there? Why does Hobbiton have houses and not hobbit-holes? Why does Gandalf look like he wandered in from a Jan Švankmajer movie?

I’d buy it in a heartbeat, though.

On to Slovakia. Artist Peter Klucik created a series of unpublished drawings that with their scratchy inking and color washes recall those of Victorian cartoonists such as John Tenniel. In this one Bilbo races up a subterranean tunnel in the house of the Elfking. He’s got hair all over his feet even on the soles.

This one is Polish and may be a cinema poster for the Peter Jackson Hobbit trilogy. The Polish cinema school is world-renowned and so is the Polish reputation for creating graphically innovative movie posters, which are uniquely of that country and have nothing to do with the art supplied by the studio. This poster has an R. Crumb counterculture feel, with elements including a Dwarven morningstar, Gollum in a “Killroy was here” pose, a hairy foot, and an effete-looking face coming out of the map that may be an elf’s. Meanwhile, Smaug is rendered like a Mesoamerican serpent carving that travels in angles, not curves.

A first edition Polish translation, in a style similar to that of Solidarity logo designer Jerzy Janiszewski. It’s visually sophisticated, as midcentury art is meant to be, but I don’t get much fun and adventure from it.

A Ukrainian edition with a spindly-legged Bilbo outside his home. He’s balding, so that was carried over from the Russian original at least.

Over now to Latvia with this 1991 edition that captures Bilbo running to catch up to the rest of the party. He must have been in a hurry because it looks like he’s still wrapped in his bedsheet. Latvia has more Scandinavian influences than Russian ones, hence the friendly gnomish look of the dwarves with their pointy caps. It’s simple and I like it, especially the way Gandalf is looking at the viewer and mischievously waggles his eyebrows.

This Estonian edition’s cover is in the Hobbits’ two favorite colors: yellow and green, as Mr. Tolkien so carefully told us. Bilbo poses in the center in armor holding a shield with a dragon on it, looking very proud of himself. Eagles, dwarves, and chamomile flowers (I think?) form the border.

The first Bulgarian edition of The Hobbit showing a strong ethnic influence. Bilbo’s hairy feet/legs are suggested rather than shown.

Another Bulgarian Hobbit, stylistically similar to the above, but hampered by two-color printing.

An interior illustration from the above edition.showing a monstrous Gollum with huge duck feet and antennae on his head. He looks a lot like Ultraman’s enemy Seijin Hipporito. 

A comic version from Bulgaria. Bilbo is blonde and childlike while Gandalf resembles a street magician. But the hobbit-hole is done correctly.

On to Mongolia.

The text is in Russian and so is Bilbo. But Gandalf is Mongolian through and through with his boots, belt, and dark complexion! Note the oddity of his hat, a mashup of a traditional Mongolian one with a wide-brimmed wizard’s one, and the small ornament on the end of his staff.

In this post I’ll be looking at some Russian / Slavic hobbit illustrations I found that were not published, at least not in a book, as far as I know.

This sweet pic depicts, I think, Gandalf and Bilbo after their adventure sharing a quiet moment together, or perhaps some ho-yay?**  Gandalf is not wearing his usual hat and robe and instead sports Slavic wear, including some clunky clogs with sheepskin ankle wraps. There’s a Russian-style teapot by his left hand likely containing hot chai.

Or perhaps the scene depicts Aragorn, visiting and comforting Frodo after the tumultuous events of The Return of the King. He’s not so grand a king that he doesn’t travel among his own people sometimes. There, that’s it.

Boromir and Hobbits, by faQy

Another Slavic depiction with two hobbits who may be Frodo and Sam, or Merry and Pippin. I think it’s the latter because of how they’re acting; I don’t sense Frodo’s angst here. Boromir looks  exasperated as they clown around. For some reason the artist left off their big, hairy feet. (The artist is Czech rather than Russian.)

This pic must have been created after the Peter Jackson trilogy, as Gollum is humanoid and nearly naked but for his loincloth. He looks stumped by Bilbo’s riddle.

It’s Bilbo that’s the surprise here — with his slim build and delicate face, he looks more elf than hobbit.

Illustration by s-u-w-i

A very slim, childlike Bilbo holding the Arkenstone (and hiding behind a pillar) as Thorin crouches with his hand to his head, wondering “Where the heck did that dang gem go?” Note Bilbo’s guilty look! And the elven  chain mail he wears under his clothing. His feet don’t have the all-over hairy quality of earlier hobbits, but they do have hair, as well as black toenails/claws, making them look rather squirrel-like. That’s new!

This artist is also from the Czech Republic. There’s enough Czech hobbits they warrant their own series one day.

Art by Kay Woollard

I’m not sure if this hobbit is truly Russian because there’s English text at the bottom, and the name of the artist isn’t. But his feet sure are!

** A slashy M/M relationship.

Yet more strange creatures sprung from the minds of Russian artists with views of hobbits unadulterated by the West. Take the one above. The hobbit is hard to see, but he’s at midcenter left, holding a sword, apparently  miniaturized as he fights the spiders, who should be giant spiders. (The same scene is depicted ina full-page color spread in the interior.) It’s clear the artist saw him as some little mouselike, trollish creature, like the Irish pooka. Gollum, his evil counterpart, is depicted as a rat/cat hybrid, with a swirling, skinny tail and toothy grin. There were more whimsical pictures inside, The Hobbit being one of those rare books that can be read and appreciated by either children of adults, depending on the packaging.

And, in fact, all of the books in this post were aimed towards children. I am indebted to the Babel Hobbits site for providing publication and artist info for them, and I provided links so readers can savor the illustrations inside. All of them show Bilbo’s Russian-style hairy feet and ankles even if the covers do not.

In this book from 2004 Bilbo has grown larger. If he stood, he’d match Gandalf’s height (which is of course not accurate at all.) He also has a sneaky expression and an abnormally pointed nose, which is also wrong.

The interior illustrations were done in a Medievalesque style. I’m not fond of them, but they do have a very Slavic feel. Gollum, with his skull face, is terrifying.

Artist: E. Nitylkina

More Medievalism, this time cribbed from The Book of Kells, in this 2001 edition. Smaug, Thorin, and an unusually dour, bag-eyed Bilbo form a tight trio, with a shadow as if they were paper cutouts. Hairy legs on Bilbo but at least his feet  have a tough, darkened sole as Tolkien told us. Interior illustrations here.

In this book from 2003 we have a fatfaced Bilbo, a neckless Gandalf, and a bunch of those Viking goblin/orcs again, so I guess the same translation was still in use. Note the coiled, centipede-like Smaug at the top left. My only question is, why are the orcs doing the “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” thing?
A more psychedelic version, and I like it. All the elements of the story are there: dwarves, map, wizard, Gollum, Beorn, Elrond, trolls, eagle, dragon. I’ve seen other Russian children’s books with this same layout so I guess it was part of a specialized line by the publisher. Tolkien’s name is on the front but not the title, which is odd.

For all its counterculture feel — including that typeface on the cover —  it was published in 1994. Interior illustrations here.

In this book from 1996 Bilbo, the writer of the tale, appears to gaze back into his past to convey it to us, within a framing device of a jewel-studded book. His feet and lower legs are hairy all over as per the Russian style and this is echoed in gorgeous full-color interior illustrations. Really, take a look. Also note that somewhere along the way it’s become standard for him to have blue eyes.

After The Fellowship of the Ring was released in 2001 hobbit depictions began to change. On this cover Bilbo  has been inspired by Elijah Wood’s portrayal of Frodo. But it was all a bait-and-switch, as the interior illustrations do not match.  Moreover, the artist gave the elves of Mirkwood fairy wings!

This edition looks very recent and so does Bilbo, who is almost completely human now and quite handsome. But he’s also not as fun.

After The Hobbit was published in the Soviet Union in 1976 the same translation was used for subsequent editions. The artists again featured those same furry feet and legs for Bilbo Baggins. Like the creature above who looks far from human-like with his claws, donkey ears, and misshapen face. Well, it’s an honest attempt at being original. But note how the artist has modeled Bilbo’s face on Mikhail Belomlinsky’s depiction, the first one to be published in Russia, down to the cleft chin.

This was actually the cover to a graphic novel published in 1992. There’s more info about it here at the Babel Hobbits site. The inside is better than the cover indicates.

Artist: N. Fadeieva

This frizzled-haired being from 1992 is wearing pants, but by his feet’s appearance it’s clear the hair runs all the way up and is not just on the top of his feet like Tolkien said. Interior illustrations indicate he has hairy hands as well. Hey, that’s not in the book!

But both are better than the below cover from 1994, where Bilbo resembles Mad Magazine mascot Alfred E. Neuman.

What, me worry?
Illustration by N. Martynowa

That’s a goofy-looking Smaug too. Very misleading because it’s not Bilbo who killed the dragon and stood over it in triumph.

This illustration by Roman Pisarov pays a more direct homage to Belomlinsky’s originals — a  more realistic version of the same characters.  Though we can’t see Bilbo’s hairy legs he has hairy ankles. (Also note the exasperation on Gandalf’s face at his nonchalance.) I’d imagine that by this time, with more translations available, the differences with the feet were taken as canon by the illustrators, with a sort of pride in that this was a uniquely Russian twist.

This cover of The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, is by Denis Gordeev, the same artist who did this one of The Silmarillion. By the book’s graphic design it’s likely both, along with the LOTR trilogy, were released as a group. Gordeev has a classic Russian painting style, one that might have been used a century ago to depict historical events or icons of the Russian Orthodox Church… a sort of  dramatic Mannerism. The same illustrations appeared in children’s edition from 2005, which may be what they were originally commissioned for.

How carefully and cold-bloodedly Bilbo cleans his sword!

By this time the hairy legs have evolved into just hairy ankles, like furry boots on Bilbo’s feet. You can also how the artist has accurately given him a “tough, leathery” sole.

This is such a Russian (and Polish too) pose: Bilbo or Frodo arguing lazily with Gandalf’s sound advice.

Another pic showing Bilbo in a different outfit. Or maybe it’s Frodo this time? The details on the hobbit hole are slightly different, as might have happened over the intervening decades.

This 1997 edition was published in Poland, but they must have used the Russian translation as the basis because again there’s those furry feet. Though in this case, it looks like there’s less hair on the top of the feet, and more on the ankles/legs. And the artist has given him hairy arms to match! I wonder if there was a mistranslation of the mistranslation, as might have happened in the Soviet Bloc years when a more direct English-to-Polish translation wasn’t permitted?

Bilbo holds the Arkenstone while Smaug flies snorting his fury above

As I said in my last post, the first edition of The Hobbit was published in the Soviet Union in 1976 as a hardback children’s book. Translation was by Natalia Rakhmanova with illustrations by artist Mikhail Belomlinsky. Notice anything different about Bilbo?

That’s right, his entire legs are hairy, not just his feet. That’s because in the Russian language feet and legs are the same word, so while the artist had read the text (and carefully, because the illustrations accurately depict what happens) he went by what the translator gave him. I imagine a qualifying word should have been used to indicate just the feet, as in Spanish where dedos means both fingers and toes, with dedos de pie indicating toes. But that wasn’t done. So, the werewolf legs.

I admit when I first saw this illustration it felt very alien, as much as a picture of a happy hobbit can be that is. He looks like he ran hip-deep through some thick, black mud. But with time, I’ve softened to it. It really is charming for a children’s book. And it relates to deeper Russian folklore traditions, with characters transforming into bears and human-like animal hybrids.

I like the style of the artist too. The pictures have a linocut or woodblock print quality. Simple, sparse, yet full of motion. They could almost be retro depictions of that sort of 1950s-1960s style done today — ageless. And the happy face of Bilbo? That’s based on a real person — actor Yevegeny Leonev, who looks a bit like American actor Danny DeVito. That’s him to left. Reportedly, he was very pleased he had been “cast” as a character in the book.

Here’s a quartet of full-page illustrations from the text. If you’ve read it, you’ll know what they depict.

To me all these pictures have a Russian flair. The peasant style of the Beorning’s tunic and sandals, Gandalf’s long-bearded but unmustached face, the pageboy haircuts of the human soldiers, all reference an earlier, Medieval period in Russia’s history. Note Gollum’s strange appearance, too. The trilogy had not been released (officially) in Russia at the time, so it wasn’t yet known he was a deformed Hobbit relative instead of some other creature.

As for the fourth picture, I can guess those are orcs, or goblins as they were called in the book, riding the wolves. But again, there was a mistranslation somewhere, and they wound up looking more like rampaging Vikings. You can view a fuller set here.

Below is a sample of a header page, showing the small illustrations before each chapter.

I don’t know if this edition ever had a modern re-release but it should have.

In the following posts of this series I’ll be looking at more Russian hobbits.