Picture: Rare Book Auctions

Scientific papers by mathematical genius Alan Turing are expected to fetch more than one hundred thousand pounds at auction.

The calculations – called “offprints” – were found in a loft.

At one point the priceless works were destined for the shredder

The papers were given to Norman Routledge by Turing’s mother Ethel.

Norman and Alan – both mathematicians – were life-long friends.

Offprints were produced in small numbers for distribution through the maths’ world.

They rarely appear for sale.

The exchange of offprints was a means of sharing knowledge between like-minded scholars.

They are seen as the first draft of an important piece of work.

The collection includes Turing’s PhD dissertation from 1938-39, Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals.

It is a personal copy signed by Turing.

It has been valued by auctioneers at £40,000 to £60,000.

Also featured is On Computable Numbers, 1936-37, which introduced the world to the idea of a “universal computing machine”.

This too carries a guide price of £40,000 to £60,000.

Turing is the father of theoretical computer science.

He was a codebreaker at Bletchley Park and played a vital role in cracking the Enigma Code – shortening World War II and saving countless lives.

A niece of Mr Routledge said:

“Following his retirement from Eton College, Norman lived in a house in Bermondsey, London.

“When he died in 2013, two of his sisters had the task of sorting through and emptying the contents.

“There were lots of personal papers which one sister carted away and stored in her loft.

“The papers stayed hidden until she moved into a care home a decade later.

“Her daughters came across the papers and considered shredding everything.

“Fortunately, they checked with Norman’s nieces and nephews because he’d always been a presence in our lives.

“We all saw Norman’s papers when the family hosted a “Routledge Reunion” weekend in November 2024.

“The papers were brought along in a carrier bag.

“After a closer look they were shown to auctioneer Charles Hanson.”

Mr Hanson said: “The papers were bought to one of our valuation days.

“As soon I saw them I knew they were special and worthy of greater research.”

Jim Spencer, director of Rare Book Auctions, said:

“This is the most important archive I’ve ever handled.

“Nothing could have prepared me for what I found in that carrier bag.

“These seemingly plain papers – perfectly preserved in the muted colours of their unadorned, academic wrappers – represent the foundations of computer science and modern digital computing.

“Any work with a direct connection to Turing is highly desirable and almost impossible to find.

“Hardly anything like this appears on the open market, so predicting hammer prices is fortune-telling.

“However, I do expect strong interest from Silicon Valley.”

The Alan Turing Papers: The Collection of Norman Routledge (1928-2013) will be held on 17th June 2025 by Rare Book Auctions, Lichfield.