A pioneering Chinese translation of the Bible, spotted by Oxfam shop volunteers, has made nearly £60,000 for the charity in a London auction. 

The 1817 Bible was produced as a five-part serial by British missionaries in India. It is believed to be the first complete translation of the Bible into Chinese. 

It was the work of Joshua Marshman and Johannes (or John) Lassar. Marshman was born in Wiltshire and spent time near our offices in Bristol, before travelling to Asia to work as a missionary and translator. 

He was one of the founding figures of Serampore College, which still stands today in the city, now in West Bengal, where this Bible was published. 

The volume was discovered among donations to an Oxfam bookshop in Chelmsford, Essex. 

The volunteer who reckoned it might be worth something was proved triumphantly right this week when a Bonhams auctioneer hammered down at £56,280. 

An image from the first-edition of A Christmas Carol, a well-known collector's favourite. But staff did well to spot the Chinese Bible as a potential top seller. Image courtesy of Bonhams. 

The sale was a shock to Nick Reeves, the bookstore manager, who said he was “absolutely speechless” at the price. 

It was a surprise too to the auction house, who listed the two-volume book with a £600 to £800 estimate. 

The Bible was printed in five parts in 1817, and according to an inscription inside was in the hands of a Thomas Dickson in 1836, when it was given to him as a gift. 

The sale of 23 books donated to Oxfam shops realised over £100,000 in total. 

A signed, first-edition copy of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was sold for £16,640. 

Dr Lorenza Gay, Bonhams associate specialist – books and manuscripts, said: “The Lassar and Marshman Chinese translation of the Bible was an exceedingly rare item, which we could not trace at auction previously. We hoped it would exceed the estimate, but it definitely surprised us with the final price achieved. This remarkable outcome is great news for the important work Oxfam does around the world.”

Charity shops used to be fertile ground for bargain hunters hoping to find unspotted rarities like this. But the internet means it’s far easier to check the value of donations before they’re put on the shelves. No doubt, some items still slip through, but buyers need to be sharper eyed and faster in the internet age.