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 By Huw Williams.
It鈥檚 been described as a 鈥淲ho鈥檚 Who鈥 of the nineteenth century, and one of the world鈥檚 literary treasures. Now the John Murray Archive is up for sale.
For more than 230 years, the publishers John Murray obtained and kept letters and manuscripts from authors like Jane Austen, Lord Byron, Thomas Carlyle, Charles Darwin, and Charles Dickens.
The list goes on, through the alphabet of the greats, to Walter Scott, William Makepeace Thackeray, Anthony Trollope, and William Wordsworth.
In all, the archive contains more than 150,000 items. It鈥檚 been valued at 拢40-50 million. More, if it were broken up and sold off separately.
But now the seventh John Murray in the line has decided to offer the entire collection to the National Library of Scotland (NLS), for the knock-down price of 拢33 million.
鈥淯nique Treasure Trove鈥
On Tuesday, the Scottish Executive announced that it鈥檚 putting up 拢6.5 million towards that total. There鈥檚 a bid in to the Heritage Lottery Fund for拢22 million. And the library itself is committed to raising the rest.
Making the announcement, Scotland鈥檚 Culture minister Frank McAveety said that the archive gives an insight into 鈥渢he critical role that Scots have played in the development of ideas and imagination through the centuries."
John Murray himself said he would "very sad" to part with the family archive. But, he said, the NLS 鈥渨ould be a marvellous home for it.鈥 Mr Murray added "My feeling is it's going home. We've always had a very strong feeling of our Scottish links."
Martyn Wade from the Library described the archive as 鈥渁 unique treasure trove of invaluable artefacts鈥.
Scientists, Explorers, Prime Ministers and Politicians
It鈥檚 full of material from eminent scientists like Charles Babbage the inventor of the calculating engine, or first ever computer Sir Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday and James Watt.
There are travellers and explorers like Thomas Cook, David Livingstone and the not-so-well-known Isabella Bird Bishop, who travelled from her home in Scotland to the Persian Gulf, Tibet, Australia, Japan, China, and the Sandwich Islands, and who became the first ever female Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Prime ministers and politicians, including Disraeli, Gladstone, and Robert Peel, are well represented. There are economists too, like Malthus, and David Ricardo.
Unrecognised Riches?
And the most remarkable thing is that no-one really knows what other riches might be lying, unrecognised and un-discovered, in the boxes of material that are still housed for the moment in the publisher鈥檚 headquarters in central London.
The Lottery should announce whether or not it鈥檚 supporting the bid to bring the archive to Scotland by the summer. If it is, the NLS will then have until January 2005 to prove it can raise the rest of the money.
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