Saved for the nation: Scottish institutions celebrate appeal’s success
The Scottish members of a consortium set up to save a unique collection of literature for the nation have welcomed the news that their international appeal has reached its target of £15 million
The success means that the Blavatnik Honresfield Library (formerly Honresfield Library) – a treasure trove of items from the world’s most beloved writers, unseen by the public for almost a century – will no longer be sold at open auction and instead will be shared with libraries and other organisations across the UK.
The library, collected and curated by a Rochdale businessman in the 1800s, comprises priceless manuscripts, rare first editions and irreplaceable letters.These include works by Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Jane Austen and the Brontë siblings.
A UK-wide consortium led by The Friends of the National Libraries, which includes Abbotsford, the National Library of Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland, was successful in raising half the funds needed from hundreds of individual donors, as well as the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Scottish Government, the Foyle Foundation, and other organisations, with the balance coming from a ‘generous donation’ by Sir Leonard Blavatnik.
Arrangements will now be made in the coming months for the Scottish organisations to take possession of key works from the collection, conserve them and make them publicly accessible.