Enid Blyton signed Bible found in Yorkshire charity shop sells for £350

A rare treasure has been uncovered in an inscription from the author, discovered in a 1953 Queen’s Coronation Bible and dedicated to a friend.

Mark Witherington, who was passed the book for sale in his antiques shop, had been astonished when he opened the cover to find the note from the creator of the Famous Five books.

The inscription reads: ‘To Judith Hadley. Here is the greatest book in the world. I hope you will read it every day. Love from your friend Enid Blyton.’

Enid Blyton, who was born 1897, was a children’s author whose books included Noddy, the Secret Seven and Malory Towers.

They have been among the world’s best-sellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600m copies.

Mr Witherington, of Pickering Antiquities, often takes treasures from local charity shops to help raise funds and, researching the discovery further, has found that a similar inscription was found in a bookshop in Ipswich in 2019.

“I presume she had a few to give out as presents,” he said. “That’s the beauty of collectables and antiques, you never know what’s going to turn up, it’s always worth checking.”

The Bible, with a sale price of £325, was bought for asking price yesterday as news was published online by The Yorkshire Post’s sister title, The Scarborough News.

“Whatever money it fetches is for the charity,” said Mr Witherington. “As a business if we can help with anything like this, we’re more than happy to do so.”

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