Signed Logie Baird book donated to Edinburgh shopThis is one of those stories that when you read it you wish it had happened to you (and wonder how the previous owner could have come to part with it!). A book about arguably the most influential invention of the 20th Century, signed by the inventor himself, ending up in a branch of Oxfam!
Of course it is really splendid news that it will end up benefiting the charity by being auctioned, maybe for as much as £1,000, and from a philanthropic point of view it's a far better outcome than it languishing undiscovered on the shop's bookshelves. Worse still it could have been snaffled by some unscrupulous dealer type who then sells it on and pockets the money for himself. Or is that fair game? I know I said at the beginning that I'd have loved to have found it myself but I'd like to think that had I done so and then realised it's value - both in monetary and cultural terms - I'd have done just as the shop owner did.
I know it's a thrill when we charity shoppers find a valuable item for an absolute steal, but I think this is such a special occurrence which goes far beyond normal considerations. If you found something on this scale, what would you do?
