Momentous historical events, dubious legends, and the real-life characters who shaped our world today are among the rich variety of stories told in ‘Books and Benefactors’, a new exhibition running at Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery until 6 April 2024. 

The display celebrates the allocation of an eclectic group of rare books and manuscripts to the University via Arts Council England’s Acceptance in Lieu (AiL) programme. This scheme transfers important cultural, scientific or historic objects and archives to the nation in payment for inheritance tax.  

Spanning a millennium, the precious volumes on show in ‘Books and Benefactors’ carry the imprints and additions of the people who owned and used them down the centuries, as well as telling us something about the wealthy industrialist who brought them together. Sir Thomas Edward Watson (1851-1921) made his fortune in shipping and coal in South Wales, became a High Sheriff of Monmouthshire and Baronet of Newport, bred pedigree cattle – and also found time to amass an impressive library that included a Shakespeare First Folio. The new display showcases six important manuscripts and a rare Caxton printed book from Watson’s collection, alongside related items already held in our Collections.  

Like his contemporary and fellow collector Edward Allen Brotherton, whose bequest established the Library and Collection bearing his name at the University of Leeds, Watson was a self-made man. Both men bought books at auction and were regular customers of the great London-based antiquarian book dealer Bernard Quaritch, raising the intriguing possibility that they may have competed with one another for a highly prized volume or two. Brotherton acquired his own Shakespeare First Folio in 1924, and it was included in the collection which came to us following his death in 1930. 

Our new oldest manuscript

The oldest item in the consignment from Watson’s library, a Greek gospel book from Byzantium, c. 950-1050, is now also the oldest manuscript in the University’s collections. It bears evidence of centuries of heavy use, with annotations, text worn away and rewritten, several lost leaves replaced, and a drawing of St Matthew added by a 15th-century reader.  

A pen and ink line drawing of a holy man with halo and robes, holding a book and pointing with a quill to words on the pages
Drawing of St Matthew in 10th-century Greek gospel book, Special Collections MS 2285. Image credit Leeds University Library.

A holey book

Fewer than 50 copies of Thomas Hoccleve’s ‘The Regiment of Princes’ are known to exist, but historic damage to Watson’s copy of this beautiful manuscript shows that it was not always as highly prized as it is today. Ornamentation, illuminated letters and sometimes whole pages have been roughly hacked from the volume. Découpage and scrapbooking, a pastime that began in France and Italy in the 17th century, is one likely reason.  

Double page of a handwritten medieval manuscript, with ornate initial letters cut out, and a knife cut down the length of the right page
Watson’s copy of Hoccleve’s ‘Regiment of Princes’ (MS 2286), showing historical damage. Image credit Leeds University Library.

Print the legend

Another medieval rarity, Watson’s copy of the ‘Brut Chronicle’ is one of 13 surviving examples of this version of the popular history of England. Combining real and imaginary events, it recounts the legends of King Lear and King Arthur as if they were true. This edition joins a unique alternative version in the University’s collection, also displayed, which provides first-hand evidence of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 among other genuine historical events. A lavishly illuminated ‘Book of Hours’ from the Brotherton Collection also complements this selection from the Middle Ages. 

Here be Britons

Contained with an exquisite Renaissance travel compilation, Gaius Julius Solinus’ third century ‘Polyhistor’ includes descriptions of exotic beasts and the strange varieties of humans thought to exist in remote areas. Of Britain, Solinus observes: ‘The uncouth customs of this island’s inhabitants make it a savage land… the people unwelcoming and warlike’. 

Detail of a page of 15th-century humanist handwritten script, on vellum with a colourfully ornamented initial letter 'A'
Detail of a 15th-century travel compendium, Special Collections MS 2284. Image credit Leeds University Library.

A decadent surprise

Jumping to the early-20th century, a 1917 manuscript by the calligrapher and illuminator Alberto Sangorski was probably purchased new by Watson. Its Gothic-inspired hand and binding resonate with the medieval objects in the display, but it contains poems by the great French Symbolist Paul Verlaine. Famously – and scandalously – the lover of fellow ‘accursed poet’ Arthur Rimbaud, Verlaine had died in a mire of alcohol and drug addiction in the last years of the 19th century. Subsequent decades brought a new appreciation for the work of his circle, and Watson’s ownership of this meticulously-crafted production hints at a finger on the pulse – and perhaps a more liberal sensibility than might be expected from a turn-of-the-century captain of industry. 

A double page with a painting of a woman holding a flower on the left, with an ornate floral surround; and blackletter calligraphy on the right, with more gilt and floral decoration
Double page from ‘Lyriques choisis de poètes français’ (1917), calligraphed and illuminated by Alberto Sangorski. Special Collections MS 2283. Image credit Leeds University Library.

The manuscripts and book were among a number acquired from Watson’s collection by the noted archaeologist and bibliophile Denys Spittle. They were received from the Denys Spittle estate through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, settling £298,894 of tax.  

“We were delighted to be allocated these rare and fascinating books through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme”, says Masud Khokhar, University Librarian and Keeper of the Brotherton Collection at the University of Leeds. “The opportunity to see them in person really brings alive the resonances between Sir Thomas Watson and Sir Edward Brotherton, and it’s also an opportunity to experience first-hand the presence and physicality of these beautiful objects and their stories.  

Michael Clarke CBE, Chair, Acceptance in Lieu Panel, adds: “Of particular note is the Greek Gospel book which will be the earliest manuscript to enter the Special Collections, its first Byzantine manuscript, and its first manuscript copy of the Gospels in Greek.”

Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay says: “I am delighted that the Acceptance in Lieu scheme has helped the University of Leeds Libraries to acquire this wonderful collection – including a manuscript which has already dazzled readers for a thousand years – so that it can continue to inspire, engage, and educate people for generations to come.”

Admission to ‘Books and Benefactors’ is free and open to all, with no booking necessary, and the gallery is open from 10am – 5pm, Tuesday – Saturday.  

A celebration of these important acquisitions will be held in the Gallery from 5.30pm on Tuesday 21 November. Admission is free, but booking is required.