First Edition of To Kill A Mockingbird Found in Donation Box
Staff at a British charity shop realized that a recent donation of a beloved American novel was a rare first edition.
You never know what you will find in a box of donations. When staff at the Oxfam bookshop on Portobello Road in London were looking through a box of donated books, a worn copy of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird immediately stood out to Deputy Manager Gurpreet Karlcut. Research by shop manager Olivia Haysman-Walker determined it was a first US edition.
In a press release published September 22, Haysman-Walker said, “It could so easily have been missed,” but “We realised quite quickly that we had something really special. The dust jacket showed its age, and although it was worn around the edges, the pages inside were in beautiful condition.”
When the shop listed the book for sale, it came to the attention of the British Library, whose Eccles Institute for the Americas and Oceania purchased it after an assessment of its condition. The price has not been disclosed, but the money will support Oxfam’s work around the world helping people facing poverty, conflict, and humanitarian crises, including the recent floods in Nepal.
The book’s sale was likely made a significant contribution to Oxfam’s work, since first editions of To Kill a Mockingbird can easily sell for thousands of dollars. A first edition in similar condition to the one donated to Oxfam sold at Freeman’s Books & Manuscripts, including Americana auction in Chicago last May, for $6,080, including buyer’s premium.
Haysman-Walker said of the purchase, “It's amazing to think that this book has passed through our Oxfam bookshop and into the national collection at the British Library – I delivered it to the Library myself! It really has been quite a journey, and it's a lovely reminder, during Second Hand September, of the kind of treasures that can be hiding among the shelves and donations in our shops.”
To Kill a Mockingbird was an immediate bestseller when it was published in 1960 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. Its 1962 film adaptation, which won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Writing, and Best Actor in a Leading Role, further encouraged its popularity, with Gregory Peck’s performance in particular helping to cement attorney and widowed father Atticus Finch as one of American literature’s great heroes.
Although the book is considered uniquely American, with its detailed, immersive depiction of life in a small town in Alabama and its examination of issues like race, class, justice, and prejudice, it is well known and appreciated in England. In 2006, British newspaper The Guardian reported that it topped a poll by the Museum, Libraries and Archives Council asking “Which book should every adult read before they die?” A 2018 theatrical adaptation by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin recently completed a limited run on London’s West End.
More tangible connections to the written word:
