Rare book raises £10,000 at auction for St Peter & St James Hospice, Haywards Heath

The book ‘Tibet and Lhasa’ is a photographic catalogue of an infamous expedition to Tibet by Younghusband in 1903-1094. John Claude White accompanied the expedition and his famous photographs were the first such record of the region to be published.

Due to fears that the images would reveal too many British secrets when published, two differing formats of the books were immediately withdrawn from sale. Meaning that this collection of photographs is extremely rare.

The images contained in the book are a fascinating insight into the culture of the region at that time.

Fortunately, staff at the Hospice quickly realised that this was an incredibly special find. Rob Parker, Head of Retail says:

“We are delighted to have been bestowed this book and even more delighted that we spotted it and that we were able to liaise with Tooveys auctioneers to have it properly valued and now sold. The monies that this book has raised will pay for an entire day of care services at St Peter & St James Hospice, helping local people living with life-limiting illness”.

It costs £6 million per year to operate the Hospice, to donate to the charity’s current Christmas appeal please visit stpjhospice.org