While the way that Gollum (the tormented fallen hobbit in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien) is imagined will probably be influenced for some time to come by his portrayal by Andy Serkis (and CGI) in Peter Jacksons' movies, it was not always so. When The Hobbit was first published in 1937, details of his size, shape, and even species were so mysteriously ominous that various forms of monstrous size and shape were presented as representations of him. Even when much more was known about Gollum with the publication of The Lord of the Rings, descriptions of his aquatic nature and webby hands would have him appearing like "a rotten evil swamp frog," and his skin has been every imaginable shade from green to grey to corpse-like. The pictures above are tagged with the artists last names, when known, and are in no particular order.
Cover by Michael Herring. Looks like the model was costumed by the local theater group. I don't have this copy--I remember being vaguely repulsed.
Arthur Rankin, Jr. always asserted that they looked to the work of Arthur Rackham for inspiration on the design of The Hobbit (1977), and here is the proof. Here in a detail from Rackham's early illustrations of Washington Irving's Rip Van Winkle we see the inspiration for their original design for Bilbo, with unmistakeable snub nose and buck teeth. The "little men" on either side of this proto-Baggins easily contain elements used in the Rankin/Bass conceptions of Thorin, Balin, and Gandalf as well. The design for Bilbo as actually animated was modified, making his features rounder and younger looking; this look for "THE" hobbit has descended on to Sierra Entertainment's The Hobbit video game, right down to his rusty red-brown hair.
