Further to the post on 29 December last, the JEWISH CHRONICLE of 13 May reported that the Valmadonna Trust Library, reputably the world’s finest collection of Hebraica in private hands, is back on the market after its sale to an unknown private buyer on 16 December in a sealed-bid auction at Sothebys, New York fell through.
Sothebys have now confirmed that, despite meeting the rumoured US $25 million asking-price, the purchaser would not agree to the two conditions stipulated by the Trust: that the collection should remain intact, and that it should be accessible to scholars. Sothebys added that a number of institutions had expressed interest in acquiring the library but had been unsuccessful in their attempts to raise the necessary funds.
Comprising 13,000 books and manuscripts printed or handwritten in Hebrew or Hebrew script and spanning a millennium of Jewish history, the collection was built up over half a century by Jack Lunzer, the 86-year-old London-based industrial diamond merchant. The library is named after Valmadonna, a small town in north-west Italy, which has longstanding connections with the Lunzer family.
The manuscript portion of the library contains numerous medieval codices and scrolls. Although the majority of them are of Italian origin, others come from Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Holland, England, Greece, Yemen, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and India. A brochure containing full information about the contents of the Valmadonna Trust Library is still online at:
http://www.sothebys.com/liveauctions/event/valmadonnaTrustLibraryBrochure.pdf
Dr Clive D Field, OBE
email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
webpages: http://www.historycultures.bham.ac.uk/staff/field.shtml
http://www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/socialchange/aboutus/staff/visitors.html
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