Blavatnik Honresfield Library
Details
Type of record: Archive
Title: Blavatnik Honresfield Library
Classmark: MS 2266
Creator(s): Brontë, Charlotte (1816-1855); Patrick Branwell Brontë; Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn (1810-1865)
Date(s): c17th - 19th century
Size and medium: 8 manuscript items; 24 volumes (31 titles)
Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/729920
Collection group(s): English Literature
Description
Manuscripts, letters and books belonging to the Blavatnik Honresfield Library, collected during the late nineteenth century by William Law.
The manuscript items relate to the Brontë family, and include early writings of Charlotte Brontë, letters written by Branwell Brontë and letters by Elizabeth Gaskell concerning Haworth.
The books include the only known complete copy of the first edition of Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey (1847), inscribed by Revd Patrick Brontë to Martha Brown, rare copies of Robert Greene’s Farewell to follie and Groatsworth of witte (both 1617), and two volumes of Thomas Shadwell’s plays published between 1668 and 1693.
Provenance
These items form a portion of the Blavatnik Honresfield Library. They were collected by William Law (1836-1901) in the late nineteenth century and cared for by subsequent generations of the family until the sale of the collection by Sotheby’s in 2022.
The collection was purchased for the nation in 2022 by the Friends of the National Libraries with the support of the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and shared between UK institutions.
Works by Charlotte Brontë are jointly owned by the British Library, the Brontë Society (Brontë Parsonage Museum) and the University of Leeds (Brotherton Library). Where applicable, this is noted at item level.
Access and usage
Access
Access to this material is unrestricted.