UK libraries and museums unite to save ‘astonishing’ lost library
June 17, 2021 8:29 AM Subscribe
[SL Guardian] From the British Library to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, a consortium of libraries and museums have come together in an “unprecedented” effort to raise £15m and save an “astonishingly important” set of literary manuscripts for the nation.
The plans were formed after the announcement last month that the “lost” Honresfield library was to be put up for auction at Sotheby’s this summer. Almost entirely inaccessible since 1939, the library was put together by Victorian industrialists William and Alfred Law at the turn of the 20th century, and is a literary treasure trove that had experts dancing with excitement – and warning that action needed to be taken to prevent it being sold piecemeal to private collectors.
The initiative to prevent the “priceless” manuscripts by authors including the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, Walter Scott and Robert Burns from falling into private hands is being led by the charity Friends of the National Libraries (FNL). It includes institutions such as the Bodleian, the British Library and the National Library of Scotland; and smaller organisations such as Abbotsford, the home of Walter Scott in Melrose; Jane Austen’s House in Chawton; the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth; and the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.
The plans were formed after the announcement last month that the “lost” Honresfield library was to be put up for auction at Sotheby’s this summer. Almost entirely inaccessible since 1939, the library was put together by Victorian industrialists William and Alfred Law at the turn of the 20th century, and is a literary treasure trove that had experts dancing with excitement – and warning that action needed to be taken to prevent it being sold piecemeal to private collectors.
The initiative to prevent the “priceless” manuscripts by authors including the Brontë sisters, Jane Austen, Walter Scott and Robert Burns from falling into private hands is being led by the charity Friends of the National Libraries (FNL). It includes institutions such as the Bodleian, the British Library and the National Library of Scotland; and smaller organisations such as Abbotsford, the home of Walter Scott in Melrose; Jane Austen’s House in Chawton; the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth; and the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Alloway.
Wow. How great to hear. Honestly 15M pounds sounds like a bargain for this collection. Really extraordinary. How sad that it was assembled with private capital and kept out of reach for 80 years!
Perhaps the Laws' collection of these pieces saved them from whatever musty fate was destined for them in the war, but the subsequent dark period seems strange and inexcusable for such an important collection. I suppose it's the continuation of exactly that darkness that the organizers hope to avoid. Can't wait until these are displayed with pride!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:08 AM on June 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
Perhaps the Laws' collection of these pieces saved them from whatever musty fate was destined for them in the war, but the subsequent dark period seems strange and inexcusable for such an important collection. I suppose it's the continuation of exactly that darkness that the organizers hope to avoid. Can't wait until these are displayed with pride!
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:08 AM on June 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
For those who are interested, here’s the organisation spearheading the campaign: the FNL, and their crowd funding page for small donations.
posted by tomp at 10:53 AM on June 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by tomp at 10:53 AM on June 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
Oh neat, I saw this zip by in my feeds and was all grumbling about the idea of a "lost" library (classic trope about things being "lost" in archives when the archivists knew they were there the whole time) but the larger story is super fascinating, thank you for bringing it here.
posted by jessamyn at 10:58 AM on June 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn at 10:58 AM on June 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
On one level 15m is a lot of money, but another it is so ridiculously nothing that it's making me furious they don't already have the funding to do this!
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:05 PM on June 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Jon Mitchell at 1:05 PM on June 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
classic trope about things being "lost" in archives when the archivists knew they were there the whole time) but the larger story is super fascinating, thank you for bringing it here
Sometimes that's true, but sometimes it's not: a library or archive can have so many things that haven't been catalogued at all. I've found interesting things (like a slanderous poem) in a box catalogued only as "Misc. Papers, [company, century]", because no one ever had time to look through to see what was in there.
posted by jb at 1:10 PM on June 17, 2021 [6 favorites]
Sometimes that's true, but sometimes it's not: a library or archive can have so many things that haven't been catalogued at all. I've found interesting things (like a slanderous poem) in a box catalogued only as "Misc. Papers, [company, century]", because no one ever had time to look through to see what was in there.
posted by jb at 1:10 PM on June 17, 2021 [6 favorites]
I'm not too bothered by the 'lost library' trope, but I do get mildly peeved with the 'saved for the nation' cliché -- the implication being that it would be some sort of cultural disaster if these manuscripts left the British Isles.
Still, this is good news, and all credit to the Friends of the National Libraries for leading the campaign. In a normal year the FNL makes grants totalling about £200,000, so this is way beyond their own resources. Their website says they are in discussion with 'private philanthropists and sources of public funds' (which must mean the National Lottery Heritage Fund -- no other fund would be big enough).
It doesn't hurt that the chair of the FNL is Geordie Greig, who also happens to be the editor of the Daily Mail. If you want to raise £15m in a hurry it helps to have the Mail on your side. But enough with the cynicism, I'm really happy they're trying to raise the money, and I hope they succeed.
posted by verstegan at 2:53 PM on June 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
Still, this is good news, and all credit to the Friends of the National Libraries for leading the campaign. In a normal year the FNL makes grants totalling about £200,000, so this is way beyond their own resources. Their website says they are in discussion with 'private philanthropists and sources of public funds' (which must mean the National Lottery Heritage Fund -- no other fund would be big enough).
It doesn't hurt that the chair of the FNL is Geordie Greig, who also happens to be the editor of the Daily Mail. If you want to raise £15m in a hurry it helps to have the Mail on your side. But enough with the cynicism, I'm really happy they're trying to raise the money, and I hope they succeed.
posted by verstegan at 2:53 PM on June 17, 2021 [3 favorites]
Hmm, tried to donate a bit, and got "30000 : Invalid field" when I got to the payment page. Oh well.
posted by tavella at 10:02 PM on June 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by tavella at 10:02 PM on June 17, 2021 [1 favorite]
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