Every month the Wareham Free Library holds a silent auction on a collection of books; however, it's not every month the collection contains 129-year-old books from one of the most celebrated writers of all time.

That is the case in September as the library is auctioning off a set of 14 Charles Dickens novels published in 1885 in excellent condition.

"They're not worth a large amount of money, but they're beautiful," said Phyllis Foley, a member of the Friends of the Wareham Free Library group in charge of the silent auction.

Foley puts together the auction every month, which usually consists of books plucked from the donations the Friends receive for the used book fairs. This collection, which features Dickens classics such as "A Tale of Two Cities," "Oliver Twist" and  "Great Expectations," was an exception.

"It's been sitting in a room in the library for years," said Foley. She said the collection was never put into circulation at the library and was recently given to the Friends by Cathy Martin, the head of Technical Services at the library.

Murphy said that although she doesn't know how the library originally came to possess the books, they have been owned since at least 1991 when the library moved into its new building.

Foley did research on the books and spoke with a bookshop owner about their worth. She said she wanted to keep them together as a collection as opposed to sell them off for the $20 to $40 apiece she was told they were worth.

"Better they go to a family who wants them," Foley said.

A full list of the books in the collection are as follows: "A Child's History of England," "Barnaby Rudge and Edwin Drood," "Christmas Books," "Dombey & Son," "Great Expectations," "Life and Adventures of Matin Chuzzlewit," "Little Dorrit," "Nicholas Nickleby," "Old Curiosity Shop, Hard Times and Holly Tree Inn," "Oliver Twist," "Our Mutual Friend," "Personal History of David Copperfield," "Pictures from Italy and America," and "A Tale of Two Cities."

The books are located in a showcase next to the computers at the Wareham Free Library and anyone can bid on the collection until Sept. 27.