SoCal man pays $80 at auction for Picasso book worth much more

It turns out the 1961 book Floyd bid $80 for at a silent auction contains four original Picasso lithographs, The Orange County Register reported, adding an art consult appraised the book at about $17,000.

"This is truly a garage-sale find," said Floyd, a 39-year-old mortgage broker and art lover from Tustin Ranch. "This is like finding the Declaration of Independence."

Floyd brought the book home, tossed it on his coffee table and thought little about it until about a month ago, when he was at the Martin Lawrence Galleries in Newport Beach and saw a framed lithograph on the wall. The gallery's art consultant told him it was taken from the 1961 book.

They determined that the book contained four other original Picasso lithographs. Gallery director Ken Lawrence valued them at $17,000.

Floyd said he will take the volume to Christie's in Beverly Hills for auction, and plans to donate 10 percent to the Friends of the Tustin Library.

"I have never won anything. I play the Lotto every week," he said. "I'm just a steady Eddie guy who worked hard and did the right thing, and honestly feel like I just got lucky."<