Page 29 - Real Rochdale Issue 13 Spring 2022

Collection of British literary treasures from Littleborough’s

Honresfeld library saved by national libraries charity

collection of over 500 historic reasures include an extremely rare
manuscripts, exceptional first editions, handwritten copy of Emily’s poems, with
A intimate letters and beautiful bindings Trevisions from Charlotte and the
from Littleborough’s Honresfeld House has well-loved Brontë family copy of Bewick’s
been purchased by Friends of the National ‘History of British Birds’, the book made famous
Libraries (FNL) after the charity raised over in the opening pages of Jane Eyre, brimming
£15 million to acquire the collection for with entertaining annotations from their
the nation. father Patrick.

The collection includes manuscripts by the At the library’s heart lies an astonishing set of
Brontës, Jane Austen, Robert Burns and Sir manuscripts in the hands of the Brontë siblings,
Walter Scott and FNL will donate every much of which has been unseen for 80 years and
manuscript and printed book to libraries and never properly examined. It includes seven of
writers’ houses across the UK so that they Charlotte Brontë’s famous ‘little books’, each of
are accessible to everyone. which is a work of art; a manuscript collection of
poems by Anne Brontë; some 25 letters by
The collection, assembled by self-made Charlotte; and a small but exquisite autograph
Victorian industrialists William and Alfred Law manuscript diary note shared by Emily and Anne.
at the turn of the 20th century, were to be
offered at auction in a series of three sales The absolute jewel of the Brontë collection is
starting in July 2021. Emily Brontë’s holograph notebook of 31 poems,
believed by many scholars to have been lost.
Working together with FNL, auctioneers This poetry notebook carries annotations in
Sotheby’s agreed to postpone the start of the Charlotte’s hand. The printed treasures of the
auctions to allow negotiations for the whole A rare handwritten manuscript of Emily Bronte’s poems, mentioned in the preface to Wuthering Heights, sisters include Emily’s own annotated copy of
collection to be acquired by a consortium of with pencil corrections by Charlotte Brontë (est. £800,000-1,200,000) their first publication, the exceptionally rare
institutions for the nation. ‘Poems of 1846’, and fine presentation
copies of first editions of their novels in their
Following the appeal to public and private original cloth bindings.
donors over the course of a few months, FNL
successfully raised over £15 million to purchase Jane Austen is represented by two hugely
the library for the nation. FNL will donate all of significant letters to her sister Cassandra (only
the manuscripts and printed books to the three early such autograph letters are held in
relevant national, university and specialist any UK national collection, the bulk being in the
collecting institutions, ensuring that as many Morgan Library, New York).
people as possible can enjoy this treasure trove
of English and Scottish literature. One is a very early letter, written on the eve of
a ball where she anticipated the end of a love
Assembled in the golden age of book collecting, affair; the second dates from 1813 and discusses
the literature found in Honresfeld library tells the reception of both Pride and Prejudice and
some of the most fabled stories in history, Sense and Sensibility.
opening a window onto the short but amazing
lives of Charlotte, Emily, Anne and even The collection also includes first editions of Pride
Branwell Brontë. and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey and
Persuasion in their original condition.
Sir Walter Scott, the complete working autograph manuscript of his 19th century novel Rob Roy
(the only Scott novel in manuscript remaining in private hands) CONT...

REAL ROCHDALE - SPRING 2022 28 Photos: Tristan Fewings for Getty courtesy of FNL 29 REAL ROCHDALE - SPRING 2022