Among the treasures due to go on sale are an illustrated dictionary in French from the 1930s, the Daily Mail’s War Atlas from the 1940s and the Private Eye April Fools edition 1989 which mocks up an image of Margaret Thatcher naked.

Jack Campin, Shelter Scotland book shop assistant manager, said: “We are very grateful to the people who donate books to us throughout the year. These are sometimes beautifully illustrated books from the early part of the last century and many are collector’s items. We also get great pieces of nostalgia like back issues of magazines or children’s books that people love to find.”

Mr Campin added: “There is huge demand for rare, antiquarian and vintage books among our customers. We usually have people queuing up for our events and for the first two hours books are flying off the shelves in the window display. Everyone who buys a book knows that every penny raised will help badly housed and homeless people in Scotland.”