A RARE first-edition book of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson signed by the author's mother is being auctioned for charity.

A Child's Garden Of Verses was anonymously handed in to an Oxfam shop in Byres Road, Glasgow, and will be sold to raise funds for the charity.

The book is signed by Stevenson's mother Margaret, who gave the book to her niece and nephew as a gift, inscribing it: "To my GG Niece and Nephew at Chudleigh with kind love."

A slip of paper inside the book, which was first published in 1885, revealed that it came from the library of Dr Adam Watson, the Treasure Island author's contemporary at Edinburgh University and his first cousin once removed.

The auctioneers estimate the book will sell for between £400 and £800 next week.

John Connolly, manager of the Oxfam shop, said: "First edition donations are rare so I'm delighted an Oxfam supporter has given the book to us. The sale of this book will raise hundreds of pounds for Oxfam's work to fight poverty around the world. For example, £400 would pay for a community library in Malawi.

"This Robert Louis Stevenson book is a wonderful piece of literature as well as a very collectable slice of Scottish history, so I'm hopeful it will attract lots of interest from serious bidders."

The book will be auctioned at Bonhams in Edinburgh on August 30 in part two of the auctioneers' Scottish Sale.