There was a mixture of shock and delight on Antiques Roadshow when a guest discovered that a Winnie the Pooh book, snapped up for just 30p at a charity shop, was actually valued at more than £1,000.
The latest episode saw the team at Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey, where locals brought items to uncover if they might be hidden treasures. One visitor presented a copy of A. A Milne’s beloved children’s book to expert Clive Farahar.
The book still had its dust jacket and turned out to be a sought-after first edition from 1926, according to reports in the Daily Star.
When Farahar enquired about its history, the owner recounted: “I’d asked my mother, you know, with the grandchildren, as she was going around the charity shops (to buy some books).
“She got me a few books, and then they’ve been in the house, but I didn’t really take much notice of it, until I got my daughter a Winnie the Pooh teddy.
“And then I thought, ‘Oh, I’m sure I’ve got one (book) somewhere’. So I was searching in the cupboards and then I came across this one.”
“This is amazing, absolutely and a wonderful find from a charity shop. The dust wrapper is a little torn there, but it is mostly all there,” remarked the delighted expert on the show.
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The expert commented on the book’s excellent condition, stating: “Beautiful green (colour). The only thing about it, I suppose, I have to say, there’s a small nick on the top there, but it is the most gorgeous copy.”
He then pointed out an inscription dated Christmas 1944 – ‘To the lady of uncertain age from the same admirer’, adding, “Now, that is romantic. But we don’t want it.”
When asked by Clive how much her mother had paid for the book, the guest estimated it was around 20p to 30p. The expert then stunned the crowd by valuing it at £1,400.
The shocked Antiques Roadshow guest exclaimed: “Seriously? £1,400? ” She added: “My mother would be over the moon, because she loved this program. £1,400? ” Clive confirmed the valuation with a smile, thanking her for bringing it in. Still reeling from the revelation, the guest joked, “it was lucky I didn’t sell it”.
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