Oxfam volunteers in Chelmsford, Essex, discovered a 2-volume Chinese Bible from 1815 to 1822 translated by missionaries John Lassar and Joshua Marshman in Serampore, India. Initially estimated at £600 to £800, the rare book sold for £56,280 on March 20, 2025, exceeding expectations significantly. The proceeds from this sale, along with other rare books auctioned by Bonhams, raised over £105,000 for Oxfam's mission to combat poverty and inequality.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Oxfam volunteers Chris Tyrrell and Eleanor Atack discovered a rare 2-volume Chinese Bible in their bookshop in Chelmsford, Essex. The Bible, dating from 1815 to 1822, was translated by missionaries John Lassar and Joshua Marshman and printed in Serampore, India. Initially estimated at £600 to £800 by Bonhams auction house, the Bible sold for a surprising £56,280 on March 20, 2025, after two weeks of online bidding. This amount is more than 70 times the highest initial estimate. The proceeds from this sale will support Oxfam’s work in tackling poverty and inequality globally.
Written for “Rare Chinese Bible Discovery” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
A rare 2-volume Bible donated to an Oxfam bookshop in Chelmsford, Essex, sold for £56,280 at auction after volunteers spotted it in a pile of donations.
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volunteers → donate → donations
Dating from 1815 to 1822, the Bible contains a Chinese translation produced by missionaries John Lassar and Joshua Marshman and was printed in Serampore, India.
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Bible → date → Serampore
It had been estimated at £600 to £800 by Bonhams before the auction, but attracted two weeks of online bidding before selling for £56,280 on March 20, 2025.
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It → estimate → March
Oxfam said the proceeds from the sale would support its work tackling poverty and inequality.
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proceeds → say → poverty
Volunteers spotted the Bible before it reached the shelves
The Bible was discovered by Oxfam volunteers Chris Tyrrell and Eleanor Atack at the charity's Chelmsford bookshop.
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Bible → spot → bookshop
They suspected that the unusual volumes could be valuable and kept them from being placed on the shop floor for an ordinary sale.
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volumes → suspect → sale
The discovery was subsequently referred for specialist assessment, with Bonhams putting an estimate of £600 to £800 on the Bible before the auction.
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Bonhams → refer → auction
The online auction ran for two weeks before closing on March 20, 2025, when the Bible sold for £56,280.
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Bible → run → 56,280
Oxfam's Chelmsford shop manager Nick Reeves said the team had been surprised by how high the bidding climbed.
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bidding → say → ?
The Bible dates back to the early 19th century
The 2-volume work dates from 1815 to 1822 and was translated by John Lassar and Joshua Marshman.
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work → date → Lassar
The translation was produced in Serampore, India, where Marshman was part of the Baptist missionary community that established the Serampore mission and later founded Serampore College.
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that → produce → College
The Bible was published in a series of parts, with the Pentateuch appearing first in 1817.
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Pentateuch → publish → 1817
Bonhams described the completed work as the first complete Bible in Chinese.
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Bonhams → describe → Chinese
Lassar, an Armenian scholar, collaborated with Marshman on the Chinese translation.
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Lassar → collaborate → translation
The work was produced at a time when Serampore had become an important centre for missionary printing and translation in the region.
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Serampore → produce → region
The rare book vastly exceeded its auction estimate
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book → exceed → estimate
Before the sale, Bonhams estimated the Bible at between £600 and £800.
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Bonhams → estimate → 600
The eventual £56,280 price represented a dramatic increase over that valuation.
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price → represent → valuation
The Bible was sold as part of a Bonhams auction featuring rare books donated to Oxfam shops.
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Bible → sell → shops
Oxfam said the Bible was among 23 other books, meaning 24 Oxfam books were represented in the sale altogether.
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books → say → sale
Together, the books raised more than £105,000 for the charity.
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books → raise → charity
Other notable works offered in the auction included books by Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien and Roald Dahl.
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works → offer → Dickens
The collection included a first edition of A Christmas Carol, a first edition of Pride and Prejudice, a first edition of The Lord of the Rings and a signed copy of Matilda.
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collection → include → Matilda
Oxfam's rare-book sales turn donations into funds
The Chinese Bible was an unusually valuable discovery, but Oxfam regularly sends particularly rare or collectable donated books to specialist auction houses rather than selling them through its ordinary shops.
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Oxfam → turn → shops
Ian Falkingham, Oxfam's donated goods strategy lead specialising in books, said the charity was grateful for the rare and unusual books donated to its shops.
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charity → donate → shops
For the Chelmsford team, the Bible demonstrated the potential value hidden among ordinary donations.
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Bible → demonstrate → donations
What initially appeared to be an old pair of books in a pile of donated material ultimately became the most valuable item in the auction, generating £56,280 for Oxfam's charitable work.
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appeared → appear → work
The Aporia
