1890 Sherlock Holmes first edition found in charity donations sold for £11,520

A rare first-edition copy of The Sign of Four, one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels, sold for £11,520 after being discovered among book donations at an Oxfam charity shop in Shrewsbury, England. According to Oxfam’s official press release, the 1890 book was identified by staff who recognised its potential significance and sought help to establish its value. The volume was subsequently sold at Bonhams auction house in March 2026. The unexpected sale turned an ordinary donation into a substantial contribution to Oxfam’s humanitarian work.How an ordinary donation became a rare findThe book arrived at the Oxfam bookshop in Shrewsbury as part of a donation from a regular supporter. It initially appeared to be an old novel among the many second-hand books received by the charity, but shop manager Tom Cotton recognised that it was an early Sherlock Holmes story.