Historic Deerfield auctioning rare book collection
Among its strengths, the library of Historic Deerfield has deep holdings in the decorative arts, architecture, and the history of early New England.
Those areas are poised to grow after a private collector donated a valuable collection of rare books to the organization, including a handwritten copy of the poems of John Donne, a letter by Stephen Crane, and a first edition of Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God” inscribed to Hattie McDaniel, the Oscar-winning Black actress.
What do these titles have to do with Historic Deerfield? Good question, which is why the museum has decided to sell more than 100 volumes from the donated collection at Christie’s through an auction that ends Wednesday.
John Davis, Historic Deerfield’s president and chief executive, said the museum is retaining roughly a third of the collection. He added that the donor, a trustee who wants to remain anonymous, has blessed the sale, which a representative for Christie’s estimated at around $1 million.
“We were able to retain the books that are within our collecting mission,” said Davis, who added the gift is among the largest in the organization’s history. The donor “said, please whatever you don’t need, sell it and use the proceeds to support the library at Historic Deerfield, so that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
Davis added that Historic Deerfield, which never formally accessioned the books it’s selling, plans to use proceeds from the sale to establish a fund to support programming as well as future acquisitions.
The donor “believes books and objects don’t need to stay bottled up in one place, knowledge and cultural collections should flow,” he said. “She thought it was the right time to allow others to enjoy this collection and benefit the library of Historic Deerfield in the process.”