Oxfam volunteers uncover rare Sherlock Holmes book, sparking Atlantic bidding war

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Spotting valuable books to raise thousands of pounds for charity is becoming elementary work for volunteers who have turned detective to discover a rare printing of the first Sherlock Holmes story.

Discovered in an Oxfam shop, the rare copy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study In Scarlet, sold for more than £15,000 after a bidding war between buyers in the US and the UK.

The first edition book broke its upper reserve price of £9,000 to fetch £15,500 at the Bonhams Auction in Oxford.

The story was discovered inside a book called Beeton's Christmas Annual for 1887 by two volunteers at an Oxfam shop in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

An Oxfam spokesman said: "There was a bidding war going on between bidders in the US and bidders in the UK for the Sherlock Holmes. It has smashed its reserves.

"This is the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes in any book anywhere. It is not only the first edition but the first printing."

The sale of 97 lots of rare books donated or discovered by Oxfam in its shops fetched more than £30,000 in total.

Volunteers at Oxfam found the valuable detective book which sparked a bidding war

The money raised from the sale will go to fund Oxfam's work around the world.

The books in the auction included first editions of The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, Sons And Lovers by DH Lawrence, CS Lewis's The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader and JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Books donated to Oxfam that are deemed to be of particular interest are put aside to be researched by a small group of volunteers.