Works inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien Ltd. The earliest illustrations of Tolkien's works were drawn by the author himself. In 1937, "The Hobbit" was first illustrated by professional draughtsmen for the American edition. Tolkien was very critical of these, and in 1946 he rejected illustrations by Horus Engels for the German edition of the "Hobbit" as "too 'Disnified'". Milein Cosman illustrated "Farmer Giles of Ham" in 1948, and Tolkien was not happy with this work, either. In 1949, Cosman was replaced by Pauline Baynes, who became Tolkien's favourite illustrator and who created drawings for "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" as well as for "Farmer Giles of
J. R. R. Tolkien ... cannot remain entirely untickled by the sweet smell of incense!" Fan attention became so intense that Tolkien had to take his phone number out of the public directory, and eventually he and Edith moved to Bournemouth, which was then a seaside resort patronized by the British upper middle class. Tolkien's status as a best-selling author gave them easy entry into polite society, but Tolkien deeply missed the company of his fellow Inklings. Edith, however, was overjoyed to step into the role of a society hostess, which had been the reason that Tolkien selected Bournemouth in the first place. According