Mozart music found in charity shop withdrawn from auction

Valuable sheet music donated to Oxfam, Newbury, was withdrawn hours before auction because owner wanted it back

A VALUABLE early publication by musical prodigy Mozart was donated to a charity shop in Newbury in error and had to be withdrawn from an auction just hours before it went under the hammer.

The sheet music, which had been valued at as much as £3,000 had been found in a box donated to Oxfam in Northbrook Street.

But no-one in the store, which does not have a sheet music specialist, realised its worth, and it was passed to Reading's Oxfam Music where the discovery was made.

It turned out to be the first print of a run of sheet music for six short sonatas printed in 1765, when Mozart, aged eight was visiting London with his father.

The item was then sent to Sotheby's, where it attracted quite a bit of attention, but just hours before its lot was called, Oxfam withdrew the sale, saying they had been contacted by someone who claimed to have donated the item and was asking for it back.

Oxfam spokesman Stuart Folkes said: “It was withdrawn because someone has come to us and told us that they were the donor, saying that they wanted it back.

“We are disappointed, but there is a kind of contract between us and our donors that if they want to have an item back, for whatever reason, we will return it.

“We are now waiting for them to come to us with what we consider reasonable proof.”

Before hearing of the withdrawal, Sotheby's book specialist, Doctor Simon MacGuire, said: “It's quite a nice story, so that's added a bit of interest.

“There are different variations of this first edition, but we only know of one other just like this one. To find something like this in a charity shop is extremely unusual.”

“There is a good chance that Mozart himself would have handled this item.”