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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Stephanie Wareham

Rare first edition of The Hobbit found among ‘unremarkable’ books at Oxfam charity shop sells for £38,000 at auction

Oxfam JRR Tolkien
A first edition of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien was discovered among a pile of 'fairly ordinary' donations at a charity shop. - (PA)

A rare first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved fantasy novel, The Hobbit, has fetched over £38,000 at auction after being discovered among "fairly ordinary" donations at an Oxfam charity shop.

The 1938 first edition, second impression, was donated to the Oxfam store in Harborne, Birmingham, alongside what staff described as a collection of "otherwise unremarkable" books.

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