In the late 1800s , British brothers William and Alfred Law began build up a collection of literary artifacts in the subroutine library of their fellowship family , Honresfield House . Because the Haworth parsonage where the Brontë family had live was barely 20 miles off , the Laws carry a especial interest group in grow manuscripts and rare mass that once belonged to the family .
William and Alfred ’s nephew inherited the entire aggregation , known as theHonresfield Library , in the early 20th one C , and go on it until his death in 1939 . Since then , the whereabouts of the bulk of the trove — salvage for the odd item resurfacing at an auction over the last several decades — have been a mystery .
But no longer . AsThe New York Timesreports , Law family descendants ( who chose to stay anonymous ) recently come forward to offer up everything in the Honresfield Library to Sotheby ’s for vendue . The collection contains more than 500 letters , rare Good Book , former manuscripts , and other point from literary legends likeRobert Burns , Walter Scott , andJane Austen .
For Brontë rooter , however , no point can contend with a book of 31 poems handwritten by Emily Brontë between 1844 and 1846 . Not only are Emily ’s handwritten written document extremely rare , but this volume has tie to a particularly significant bit of literary chronicle . In 1845,Charlotte Brontëcame acrossa book of poemsthat Emily had penned without planning to share them with anyone , and urge on her to publish them . After some resistance , Emily relent , and the three sisters — Emily , Charlotte , andAnne — self - published a poetry solicitation in 1846 . Though they sold a lofty total of two copies , the experience gave them the momentum they need to pursue writing novels .
It ’s not clear whether this notebook was , in fact , the one that Charlotte had chanced upon , but one page does assume a note reading “ Never was unspoiled stuff penned , ” which is believed to have been scrawl by Charlotte herself . The book could bring somewhere between $ 1.3 and $ 1.8 million .
Other Brontë home artifacts include handwritten birthday messages interchange between Anne and Emily ; letters that their blood brother , Branwell , indite to Samuel Taylor Coleridge ’s son , Hartley ; and first editions of Emily’sWuthering Heights , Anne’sAgnes Grey , and Charlotte’sJane Eyre . There ’s also a well - worn written matter of Thomas Bewick ’s two - volume workA History of British Birds , the book Jane Eyre is read at the very beginning of her eponymous novel .
The Honresfield Library will be on display in New York City from June 4 through June 9 , and in London from July 10 through July 12 . Hopeful gatherer can register with Sotheby ’s and place their bidsonlineany time between July 2 and July 13 .
[ h / tThe New York Times ]
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