A postcard sent to Oxford author JRR Tolkien, valued at £275,000, has been found by a demolition worker.
The item, dated 1968, was found at The Lord Of The Rings author's former retirement home in Poole, Dorset, before the bulldozers moved in.
After the death of his wife in 1972, Tolkien sold the bungalow for £23,000 and moved back to Oxford.
Contractor Stephen Malton found the postcard - depicting Cork in Ireland and signed "Lin" - as he dismantled a fireplace, itself valued at £250,000.
He said: "I have been doing this for 15 years, my father did it for 40 years before me.
"All of a sudden, for this to land in your lap, is just quite unbelievable."
It is thought Lin could be fantasy author Lin Carter, who wrote A Look Behind the Lord of the Rings, published in 1969.
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