Donated first edition of The Hobbit sells for £38k

A first edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien that was discovered among a pile of "fairly ordinary" donations at a charity shop has sold for £38,400.

The much-loved fantasy novel, a first edition, second impression that was published in 1938, was donated to the Oxfam store in Harborne, Birmingham, alongside what staff said was a collection of "otherwise unremarkable" books.

After recognising how significant the book was, staff members sent it for specialist assessment before it was sold at auction.

Julian Grist, manager of Oxfam Harborne, said: "Whenever I spot a copy of The Hobbit, I always find myself thinking 'please let this be worth something'.

He added: "Tolkien is hugely collectable, and even something that looks quite ordinary can turn out to be incredibly valuable – sometimes an old dust jacket is all it takes."

The book is one of about 2,300 copies printed and features four colour illustrations by Tolkien that first appeared in the second impression.

The money raised from the sale would help Oxfam's work tackling poverty and inequality around the world, the charity said.

Grist said he did not get a chance to tell the person who donated the book how important it was.

He said: "It arrived with a pile of fairly ordinary books, and by the time I'd realised what we had, the donor had already left.

"I would have loved the chance to tell them just how extraordinary their donation was.

Grist said has learned to keep his "eyes open" in his job as treasures could appear at any time.

"That's part of what makes working in an Oxfam bookshop so exciting.

"We can never get enough Tolkien. His books fly off our shelves. This one was something really special, and it's wonderful to know it will now make such a difference through Oxfam's work," he said.

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