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Thursday, October 10, 2019

Thursday, October 10, 2019 11:24 pm by Cristina in , , ,    No comments
The Brontë Society is making an urgent appeal for donations towards a little book by a 14-year-old Charlotte Brontë dated 19 August 1830. The little book's actual size is no bigger than a matchbox but its significance and value in the Brontë story is much, much larger. There were only six of them: four of them are already in the Brontë Parsonage Museum, another one got lost via the Law collection in the 1930s and here's the sixth one, which resurfaced in 2011 and was auctioned at Sotheby's.  Regrettably, the Brontë Society was outbid by the Musée des Lettres et Manuscripts (in Paris). This museum closed in 2014 after its owner Gérard Lhéritier, and his company Aristophil were investigated for allegedly running the museum as an illegal pyramid scheme fraud. Now the collection has to be sold on court orders. Quoting Rarebookhub:
“The Aristophil Collections will be dispatched over the next six years,” the first catalogue reads. “We expect to hold 300 sales.” Furthermore, the estimated 12 to 16 million euros that the global sale is expected to generate might create other legal problems as some documents are co-owned by 2,000 various investors! (Thibault Ehrengardt)
The little book needs to be brought home to the Brontë Parsonage Museum, where it was originally crafted and where it will not only truly cherished but also made available to all Brontë scholars and enthusiasts out there. The auction will take place in Paris in mid-November.

And here's how YOU can help:
This important miniature manuscript is expected to sell for at least £650,000. We have worked hard for many weeks to raise the funds required but are currently £50,000 short of the sum required to put in a competitive bid.
Please can you help us to acquire this extraordinary item for the Brontë Parsonage Museum collection by making a donation today? 
Thank you. Your gift, large or small, will make a great difference to our campaign and help ensure that this time, the little book comes home to Haworth. 
Click here to donate any amount you can help with, tiny as it may seem to you, and help bring Charlotte's little book home.

 

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