Charity shop staff thrilled as rare edition of The Hobbit sells for £3,000

A Stirling Oxfam shop sold a scarce 1968 Longmans Pleasure in Reading edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for £3,000 after it was donated among children's books, and the sale raised funds for the charity.

Staff at the Oxfam bookshop on Murray Place in Stirling said they were thrilled after a rare edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit sold for £3,000. The book arrived among a pile of donated children's school books and was identified as a Longmans Pleasure in Reading edition. That printing was issued for primary school libraries in 1968 and 1970 and includes Tolkien's maps and a colourful Smaug illustration. It is believed only about 1,500 copies were printed across two impressions, with fewer than 50 thought to survive today. Key details: - Location: Oxfam bookshop on Murray Place, Stirling. - Item: Longmans Pleasure in Reading edition of The Hobbit, first impression from 1968, with endpaper maps and a Smaug cover illustration. - Rarity: Around 1,500 copies printed across two impressions; believed fewer than 50 remain. - Sale: Listed on Oxfam's online shop and sold for £3,000 over the Christmas period, becoming the highest-priced book sold by the branch. - Shop response: The manager said staff were excited by the discovery and that the proceeds will support Oxfam's work tackling poverty and injustice. Summary: The sale provided an unexpected fundraising boost for Oxfam and set a record for the Stirling branch's online book sales. Undetermined at this time.