The billionaire gave half the £15m needed to prevent Honresfield Library – which contains original manuscripts by Emily Bronte – being sold into a private collection
December 20, 2021 18:38
A notebook of poems by Emily Brontë many scholars thought lost is among a £15 million trove of literary treasures that billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik has helped save for the nation.
The Honresfield Library contains manuscripts from famed British authors, including Jane Austen, who is represented with a rare letter discussing her romance with Tom Lefroy.
It was curated in the 19th century by a Rochdale mill owner and remained largely inaccessible for the last 80 years.
When it emerged earlier this year the library would be put up for sale, a five-month fundraising appeal sought to raise enough funds to ensure it would not be split up or sold abroad.
Vendors and Sotheby’s agreed to postpone its sale to give the Friends of National Libraries (FNL) charity an opportunity to purchase it in its entirety on behalf of UK libraries.
Sir Leonard, 64, donated £7.5m in a donation described as the largest of its kind. Another £4m came from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
The rest came from individuals and various organisations, including the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation, the National Library, and others.
The collection has been renamed the Blavatnik Honresfield Library in the Ukrainian-born businessman’s honour.
Sir Leonard, who owns Warner Music, topped the Sunday Times rich list this year with a fortune estimated at £23 billion.
FNL chairman Geordie Greig said the “generosity of all the donors has been incredible in saving this unique library, especially Sir Leonard Blavatnik, who wonderfully matched the £7.5m that we had raised ensuring that our campaign to save the collection was successful."
Hailing the “tremendous news for our country” in a statement, FNL patron Prince Charles added that “our literary heritage is our cultural D.N.A. and this preserves it for students, teachers, academics and ordinary readers in perpetuity.”