Book found in Olney Oxfam charity shop sold for £30k

A book of etchings by a famed Italian artist which was found in a charity shop has fetched £30,000 at auction.

Despite being without its front cover, the book attracted the attention of Tim Street - who volunteers at the Oxfam shop in Olney, Buckinghamshire.

Mr Street said he thought the book was "a mess" before realising it contained work by the 18th Century artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi .

It was sold at Cheffins Fine Art Auctioneers in Cambridge in July.

Oxfam shop manager Joanne Papworth-Smith said the book "could have been easily overlooked".

She said the money raised from the sale "will help make a difference to people living in poverty".

The book, which was part of a large anonymous donation to the shop, contained 52 drawings of various views of Rome and sold for more than four times its initial estimate.

Charles Ashton, director of Cheffins, said: "Piranesi was famous for his etchings of Rome and his drawings rarely come for sale on the open market.

"We were pleased to have had the opportunity to offer these important works for sale and the price achieved was a strong result, which we hope will help Oxfam in its essential work."

Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian Neoclassical architect and artist who is most famous for his drawings of Rome, as well as fictitious prisons.

He was said to be fascinated with the Romans' engineering and architectural ability, and was a keen archaeologist.

Pirenesi's etchings and drawings were aimed at celebrating the preservation of Rome's ancient heritage.