A rare first edition copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis has sold for £1,000 after it was found in donations to a charity shop. Jane Rickard, a volunteer at Oxfam bookshop in Truro, Cornwall identified the 1950 copy of the book which was later sold on the charity’s online portal, and was quickly acquired for £1,000.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first, and best-known novel in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series, first published in 1950, which takes readers to the magical land of Narnia. Among all the author’s books, it is reportedly the most widely held in libraries, and it has received countless adaptations including, for television, theatre, and film. Most recently, the collection has been adapted for a Netflix production of The Chronicles of Narnia, starting with Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, directed by Greta Gerwig, due for release in Spring 2027.
Jane Rickard said she had been sorting through some newly donated books when she came across the rare volume of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe “completely by chance”.
“It looked like an old copy of it, I looked inside to see if it was a reprint, and it wasn’t, and I got quite excited,” she explained.
“So I checked online for what a first edition would look like and that’s when I thought, ‘It’s a first edition!'”
Image credit: OXFAM
When she realised how much the book might be worth, Jane’s “jaw dropped”.
“We do get some excellent donations, and it’s not that rare to have a £30 book, a £50 book, but £1,000 has never happened.” she added.
“I can only think it was the magic of Narnia because there was no reason for me to even be looking at that section – I’m normally behind the counter or in the shop. It just looked like a small hardback book.”
Barnaby Attwell, manager of Oxfam Books Truro, said that he was amazed “when Jane plucked the book out amongst many other similar-looking books”.
He described the “collaborative effort” of researching and selling the book explaining that one volunteer discovered that “even without a dust jacket, a first edition is worth over a thousand pounds.” While other volunteers checked and corroborated the information.
Another volunteer wrote the book’s description, while Attwell photographed it for upload online where it sold for £1,000. Atwell remarked that the staff were all “over the moon” at the selling price.
“It’s great to know that money will be going to help people in need,” he concluded.
