Charity shop workers have been left “absolutely speechless” after a donated Chinese bible sold for over £50,000 at auction.
The rare book, which was the first complete bible in Chinese, was found in a pile of donations at Oxfam’s Chelmsford bookshop in Essex.
The bible, translated by John Lassar and Joshua Marshman, dates back to 1815-1822 and sold at a Bonhams auction.
Two shop volunteers, Chris Tyrrell and Eleanor Atac, found the 200-year-old book and “suspected it could be worth something.”
The rare script was first put up for auction valued at between £600-£800. It sold for £56,280 after two weeks of bidding.
Nick Reeves, Oxfam Chelmsford’s bookshop manager, said: “When it was put up for auction, it was originally valued at a few hundred pounds, so we never imagined it might go for this much.
“We were sat watching the bidding and just seeing it go up and up. When it finally ended, I was in complete shock. We were absolutely speechless.
“It’s amazing to think that a donation from our shop could help raise that much money Oxfam. It’s just wonderful.”
The Bible was among 23 other books donated to Oxfam charity shops across the country which were at Bonhams’ auction last week, raising over £105,000 in total for Oxfam.
This includes a first edition of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for £16,640, an English translation of Karl Marx’s Manifesto of the Community Party for £7,040 and a signed copy of Roald Dahl’s Matilda from 1989, which sold for £2,304.
Ian Falkingham, a book specialist for Oxfam said the charity was “absolutely blown away” by the book sales.
“We are so grateful for all our donations at Oxfam, and the many incredible, rare and unique books we are donated,” Mr Falkingham added.
“The money raised from these books will go towards helping tackle poverty and inequality across the globe, at a time when it is needed most.
"It just goes to show that you never know what you might find in our wonderful shops. Thank you so much to Bonhams for their auction and to everyone who has ever donated to Oxfam.”
Dr Lorenza Gay, Bonhams Associate Specialist - Books and Manuscripts, said: "For more than twenty years, Bonhams has proudly worked with Oxfam bookshops, and we are thrilled that we've been able to use our expertise and platform once again to deliver brilliant results for the charity.
“The Lassar and Marshman Chinese translation of the Bible was an exceedingly rare item, which we could not trace at auction previously. We hoped it would exceed the estimate, but it definitely surprised us with the final price achieved. This remarkable outcome is great news for the important work Oxfam does around the world."
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