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Charity shop says 'hello dolly' to auction windfall

Alex Scapens
4/ 6/2008

CHARITY staff got an unexpected windfall when a doll was left among the piles of donations - and then auctioned for £5,200.

The valuable Jumeau bisque was given to the Children’s Society shop, on Heaton Moor Road, Heaton Moor, last year and has just gone under the hammer at world famous auctioneers Bonhams.

It is the single biggest amount ever earned by an item donated to the shop, and manager Conor Jerram believes it is the largest from any of the charity’s stores this year.

The doll was made in 1885 and it is unknown who the generous mystery benefactor was - or even if they realised how much it was worth.

He said: "I am really pleased that a doll originally made for children all those years ago has raised so much for work with children now.

"It is the most expensive thing we have sold by far, the previous record was about £200. I had an idea it was worth quite a bit, but I had no idea how much.

"I took it down to London myself on the train, it’s very delicate so I made sure it was really well wrapped and I was very careful not to bump into anyone."

The doll, still in its original clothes, was dropped off last autumn and was valued around Christmas time - with a prediction it would fetch approximately £1,500.

Then it was a matter of waiting for a specialist auction for dolls at Bonhams, in May.

Conor added: "I’d really like to thank whoever was generous enough to donate us the doll."

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