A book donated to Oxfam by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has raised £12,000 for the charity.
Volunteers at Oxfam’s bookshop in St Giles were stunned when they found a book of Blake’s poetry annotated by the rock legend and on sale for 50p.
The book had been donated by Yorke and contained an early draft of the song Airbag, the opening track on the 1997 record.
Andrew Chapman, a rare books specialist at the shop, was alerted to the find and immediately realised the donation’s potential worth.
The 48-year-old, a volunteer at the store for the past 16 years, was unavailable for comment but said earlier: “I immediately realised the book shouldn’t have been put out for 50p and took it off the shelf.
“The book is a tatty Penguin 1960s paperback of Songs of Innocence and Experience, but Yorke’s lyrics and the annotations make it very special."
It was not the first time the books expert has stepped in to earn Oxfam a small fortune. In 2008 he picked out a scruffy copy of Rumour at Nightfall, Graham Greene’s third novel, which raised £15,000.
The Blake book was auctioned in London today.
A spokeswoman for Dreweatt and Neate auction house said: "The hammer price was £12,000."
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