Narnia first edition earns £1,000 for charity

A CHILDREN’S book donated to a charity shop delivered an unexpected windfall when it sold online for £1,000.

The 1950 first edition of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis – the second volume in the perennially popular Chronicles of Narnia - was donated to Oxfam’s dedicated bookshop in New Bridge Street, Truro.

Published by Geoffrey Bles, an early supporter of Lewis’ work, it carried illustrations by Pauline Baynes, well known for her work on books by JRR Tolkien; and the title, author and publisher details embossed in silver on the spine. Inside, a dedication from godmother to goddaughter was hand-written and dated in the year of publication.

Sharp-eyed volunteer Jane Rickard found the book among a selection that had come into the shop, and was attracted by its age. However, her “jaw dropped” when she realised it was a first edition and worth considerably more than most books in store.

Bookshop manager Barnaby Attwell said: “It came in as books normally do, through the back gate and into our store room. So many old books look like generic old books, and as this one didn’t have a dust jacket, it might not have jumped out at many people. But Jane was having a rummage and something about it caught her eye.”

After much excited conversation within store and a consultation with a specialist, the price was set at £1,000, and the book sold within a week in September, with all proceeds going to Oxfam’s work against global poverty. Astonishingly, it could have attracted more money if it had had a dust jacket (£4,000), while a complete seven-volume set could have fetched £30,000.

Mr Attwell corresponded with the buyer, who asked questions about the condition of the book - the dust jacket was missing, the spine faded and cocked, slight bumping on the corners but otherwise in good condition – and expressed a desire to read the book to his children before putting it on display.

“He was building a collection of childhood classics for his family, and as an Oxfam supporter and previous customer, he was keen to add this one to the set,” said Mr Attwell.

He added that books were “the last charity shop bargains you can find”, due to a lack of knowledge of their true worth. “While people seem to have caught onto selling clothes and vinyl, for example, they don’t seem to value books,” he said. “You often see them displayed in no particular order for £2 each. But because we are a bookshop full of volunteers who love books, we know what to look out for, and we find something most weeks. We see all sorts of weird and wonderful things - sometimes donors want us to have them, other times, they just don’t know the value.”

Recent sales include a book about ferns in the New Naturalist series (£90), a book about the Lascaux cave paintings in France (£70), and Sex by Madonna (£70). “I had only ever read about Madonna’s book in the newspapers when it came out in 1992,” Mr Attwell admitted. “It caused a stir back then, but looked more like an arty book by today’s standards. No sooner had we put it online than it sold.”