Allen & Unwin
From Tolkien Gateway
Allen and Unwin is a book publisher. It was the first publishing company that published The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
The initial firm of George Allen and Sons was established in 1871, but became George Allen and Unwin on 4 August 1914 when Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest. In 1936, Rayner Unwin was given the manuscript of The Hobbit and was paid a sixpence to report back on it to his father. His report was favourable, and the company published the book. Rayner Unwin would later lead the company himself, until his retirement in 1985.
In 10 July 1990 the company was bought by HarperCollins and ceased to exist as a company in the United Kingdom, but continued separately in Australia and New Zealand.
