Book Tolkien
Oxfam found itself the recipient of a first edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, after a mysterious benefactor handed over the books to the Oxford branch, writes Tim Partridge.
They will contribute to a national yearly sales total of 12 million books. However, while the shop's average selling price is around £2, Lord of the Rings notched up almost £8000 at auction.
Other recent donations have included a rare 1965 copy of Paddington Bear and a first edition of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights novel. Even without these high-profile contributions, however, the charity reports second-hand books as their fastest growing product, stating they are "an extremely important method of raising funds for our work to overcome poverty around the world."
30th Oct 2003