A rare Chinese Bible donated to an Oxfam store in Chelmsford sold for £56,280 at auction, leaving staff "in complete shock" as it was only expected to raise a few hundred pounds. The Bible was dated between 1815 and 1822 and is said to be the first complete Bible in Chinese.
Oxfam staff found the rare Bible in a pile of donations at their Chelmsford store. Volunteers Chris Tyrrell and Eleanor Atack spotted it as potentially valuable. "When they found it, they knew it was something special, and it wasn't put out on the shop floor," said Nick Reeves, Oxfam Chelmsford's bookshop manager, according to BBC News.
Initially valued between £600 and £800, the Bible's final selling price surpassed all expectations. "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," said Reeves, as reported by Christian Today.
The auction, conducted by Bonhams between March 10 and 20, featured 24 rare books donated to Oxfam stores around the country and raised over £105,000 in total. More than half of the funds came from the sale of the rare Chinese Bible. Other notable items included a first edition of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which sold for £16,640, making Dickens the next most sought-after author in the auction.
Dr. Lorenza Gay, a specialist at Bonhams, noted the rarity of the Bible among the lots. "We hoped it would exceed the estimate, but it definitely surprised us with the final price achieved," said Gay. "This remarkable outcome is great news for the important work Oxfam does around the world."
The Bible, translated by John Lassar and Joshua Marshman, represents the first complete Bible written in Chinese. Between 1815 and 1822, Protestant missionaries living in China began translating scripture into Chinese. The Chinese edition Bible was published as a series during this period, starting with the Pentateuch.
"It's amazing to think that a donation from our shop could help raise that much money for Oxfam. It's just wonderful," said Reeves.
Other sales from the auction included a Charles Dickens autograph quoting from A Christmas Carol, which sold for £12,160, as reported by Christian Today. A first edition of Karl Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party sold for £10,880, while the first English translation raised £7,040. Additionally, a signed copy of Roald Dahl's Matilda from 1989 sold for £2,304, and a first edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's Return of the King sold for £2,048.
"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," said Ian Falkingham, Oxfam's Donated Goods Strategy Lead. "We are absolutely blown away by the sales at Bonhams' auction today."
"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," added Gay.
"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," said Reeves.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
