Bring the Brontës Home to Haworth (for the FNL)
Donation protected
UPDATE JUNE 23: Our JANE EYRE READATHON will begin on June 25! Please subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch the event live or anytime after June 27... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQJFerHGuZNH9FQuYKyBAnQ
UPDATE JUNE 17: Due to the wonderful news about the FRIENDS of NATIONAL LIBRARIES (FNL) coalition and their efforts to raise £15m to purchase the Honresfield Library and keep the entire collection intact, we are contributing the funds raised here through the end of our fundraising campaign on July 10 to the FNL Consortium, which is directly supporting the Bronte Parsonage Museum, as well as numerous other literary institutions throughout the United Kingdom. Read more about this fabulous turn of events here: https://www.fnl.org.uk/articles/50-fnl-forms-consortium-to-save-literary-treasure-trove-for-the-nation
This summer, the public is likely to lose a trove of literary treasures, and we need your help to save at least one irreplaceable object...
In May, Sotheby's auction house announced an upcoming sale of the Honresfield Library. This unparalleled collection of literary and historical artifacts includes items held by a private family for over a hundred years and includes exceptional documents like Emily Brontë's famed book of poetry (with Charlotte's handwritten edits), pages from the Brontë sisters' diaries (including sketches of their daily lives), an edition of Bewick's History of British Birds (annotated by the Brontë family and featured in the opening chapter of Jane Eyre), and various letters and books from the Brontës that have yet to be announced. These items have not been viewed by scholars or Brontë fans for over a generation.
In all likelihood, this priceless trove will return to the hands of a private investor, perhaps being withheld from the public for another century. We need your help to acquire at least one item for public display and access.
While we at the BRING THE BRONTES HOME (#BringtheBrontesHome) campaign fully support the efforts of the Brontë Society and the Brontë Parsonage Museum to save the Honresfield Library as a single historic and literary entity, we are also pragmatists and admit the very real possibility that the Honresfield Library Auction at Sotheby’s this summer will continue as planned.
With that pragmatic outlook, we are launching a “one is better than none” style campaign.
Our purpose is to collect as much funding as we can to purchase a single Brontë item from the auction and donate it to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.
Money raised in this campaign will be used to cover the item’s cost, auction or sales fees, taxes, currency conversion fees, and any shipping costs that may be incurred upon purchase of that item. All remaining or unused funds from this campaign will be donated to the Brontë Society’s purchase fund for their future use after the Sotheby’s Honresfield Library auction is complete.
Learn more about the Honresfield Library auction here... https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/bronte-manuscript-trove-sothebys-1234594000/
Due to the public nature of the Sotheby’s auction, there must be a degree of secrecy with this project. We will not, for example, state which item we are attempting to purchase, but it will be an item that was created by or belonged to a member of the Brontë family. We will privately notify the Brontë Society in advance of the auction to ensure that we do not bid against them. There is also a chance that our bidding attempts will be unsuccessful; in that case, all funds from this fundraiser will be donated to the Brontë Society’s purchase fund. If the auction is cancelled or if the Honresfield Library is otherwise saved, then all of the funds that we raise will likewise be donated to the Brontë Society’s purchase fund.
Private donors have also pledged additional funds to this campaign, so the total raised as indicated in this fundraiser is less than what is actually on hand. Again, this is to maintain the necessary level of secrecy due to the publicity surrounding the Sotheby’s auction.
All donors who contribute to this campaign will have their name included in a letter that will be presented to the Brontë Society along with the item purchased. The names will be placed in categories indicating the donation amount in these categories: in excess of $10,000; $1,000; $100; and all sums below $100 in alphabetical order by surname.
Fundraising for this campaign will continue through 13 July 2021. As donations increase, we will likewise increase our bid. If the item on which we are bidding exceeds the donations that we have, then we may bid on a lower priced item to ensure that at least one item can be purchased with your generously donated funds. In this case, we would again communicate with the Brontë Society to ensure that we are not in competition with one another.
After the Honresfield Library auction is completed in July, we will update our fundraising page and social media outlets with an account of the actions taken in terms of bidding and whether or not we were successful with our purchase, as well as how we will proceed with the donation of the purchased item to the Brontë Parsonage Museum (if successful) or next steps for part two of the Honresfield Library auction (if not yet successful).
If our efforts to secure an item in the July 2021 portion of the Sotheby’s Honresfield Library auction are not successful, then we may choose to extend our campaign to part two or part three of the Sotheby’s auction, which will take place in later 2021 and 2022. Donors will be notified if this is the case.
We fully support the Brontë Society and Brontë Parsonage Museum’s efforts to keep the Honresfield Library intact. More information about their stance and ways you can help them is available at https://www.bronte.org.uk/whats-on/news/242/save-the-honresfeld-library If you would prefer to donate directly to their purchase fund, you may do so here http://www.bronte.org.uk/support-us/donate
Until we hear otherwise, we must assume that the Sotheby’s auction of Brontë and literary treasures will continue as planned. “One is better than none,” so let’s at least bring one Brontë family item home to Haworth!
In addition to this Go Fund Me campaign, BRING THE BRONTES HOME is also hosting a fundraising auction from 23 June to 30 June; if you would like to donate an item or a skill/virtual class to this auction, please fill out this form: https://t.co/jM4laWrQs4?amp=1
We are also holding a Jane Eyre readathon on YouTube from 25 to 27 June. We are in need of readers of all experience levels to read assigned characters from the novel in what will be a kind of dramatized audio book that will be streamed live from Zoom onto YouTube. If you would like to participate in the Jane Eyre readathon, please contact us via Go Fund Me using the "contact" link on this page. Thank you!
Please follow us on Twitter for further updates: @BringBrontesHom
If you are not able to contribute financially at this time, please spread the word about our campaign. Every penny helps, and every voice amplifying this cause is greatly appreciated.
With much love,
Amber and Carolina
UPDATE JUNE 17: Due to the wonderful news about the FRIENDS of NATIONAL LIBRARIES (FNL) coalition and their efforts to raise £15m to purchase the Honresfield Library and keep the entire collection intact, we are contributing the funds raised here through the end of our fundraising campaign on July 10 to the FNL Consortium, which is directly supporting the Bronte Parsonage Museum, as well as numerous other literary institutions throughout the United Kingdom. Read more about this fabulous turn of events here: https://www.fnl.org.uk/articles/50-fnl-forms-consortium-to-save-literary-treasure-trove-for-the-nation
This summer, the public is likely to lose a trove of literary treasures, and we need your help to save at least one irreplaceable object...
In May, Sotheby's auction house announced an upcoming sale of the Honresfield Library. This unparalleled collection of literary and historical artifacts includes items held by a private family for over a hundred years and includes exceptional documents like Emily Brontë's famed book of poetry (with Charlotte's handwritten edits), pages from the Brontë sisters' diaries (including sketches of their daily lives), an edition of Bewick's History of British Birds (annotated by the Brontë family and featured in the opening chapter of Jane Eyre), and various letters and books from the Brontës that have yet to be announced. These items have not been viewed by scholars or Brontë fans for over a generation.
In all likelihood, this priceless trove will return to the hands of a private investor, perhaps being withheld from the public for another century. We need your help to acquire at least one item for public display and access.
While we at the BRING THE BRONTES HOME (#BringtheBrontesHome) campaign fully support the efforts of the Brontë Society and the Brontë Parsonage Museum to save the Honresfield Library as a single historic and literary entity, we are also pragmatists and admit the very real possibility that the Honresfield Library Auction at Sotheby’s this summer will continue as planned.
With that pragmatic outlook, we are launching a “one is better than none” style campaign.
Our purpose is to collect as much funding as we can to purchase a single Brontë item from the auction and donate it to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.
Money raised in this campaign will be used to cover the item’s cost, auction or sales fees, taxes, currency conversion fees, and any shipping costs that may be incurred upon purchase of that item. All remaining or unused funds from this campaign will be donated to the Brontë Society’s purchase fund for their future use after the Sotheby’s Honresfield Library auction is complete.
Learn more about the Honresfield Library auction here... https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/bronte-manuscript-trove-sothebys-1234594000/
Due to the public nature of the Sotheby’s auction, there must be a degree of secrecy with this project. We will not, for example, state which item we are attempting to purchase, but it will be an item that was created by or belonged to a member of the Brontë family. We will privately notify the Brontë Society in advance of the auction to ensure that we do not bid against them. There is also a chance that our bidding attempts will be unsuccessful; in that case, all funds from this fundraiser will be donated to the Brontë Society’s purchase fund. If the auction is cancelled or if the Honresfield Library is otherwise saved, then all of the funds that we raise will likewise be donated to the Brontë Society’s purchase fund.
Private donors have also pledged additional funds to this campaign, so the total raised as indicated in this fundraiser is less than what is actually on hand. Again, this is to maintain the necessary level of secrecy due to the publicity surrounding the Sotheby’s auction.
All donors who contribute to this campaign will have their name included in a letter that will be presented to the Brontë Society along with the item purchased. The names will be placed in categories indicating the donation amount in these categories: in excess of $10,000; $1,000; $100; and all sums below $100 in alphabetical order by surname.
Fundraising for this campaign will continue through 13 July 2021. As donations increase, we will likewise increase our bid. If the item on which we are bidding exceeds the donations that we have, then we may bid on a lower priced item to ensure that at least one item can be purchased with your generously donated funds. In this case, we would again communicate with the Brontë Society to ensure that we are not in competition with one another.
After the Honresfield Library auction is completed in July, we will update our fundraising page and social media outlets with an account of the actions taken in terms of bidding and whether or not we were successful with our purchase, as well as how we will proceed with the donation of the purchased item to the Brontë Parsonage Museum (if successful) or next steps for part two of the Honresfield Library auction (if not yet successful).
If our efforts to secure an item in the July 2021 portion of the Sotheby’s Honresfield Library auction are not successful, then we may choose to extend our campaign to part two or part three of the Sotheby’s auction, which will take place in later 2021 and 2022. Donors will be notified if this is the case.
We fully support the Brontë Society and Brontë Parsonage Museum’s efforts to keep the Honresfield Library intact. More information about their stance and ways you can help them is available at https://www.bronte.org.uk/whats-on/news/242/save-the-honresfeld-library If you would prefer to donate directly to their purchase fund, you may do so here http://www.bronte.org.uk/support-us/donate
Until we hear otherwise, we must assume that the Sotheby’s auction of Brontë and literary treasures will continue as planned. “One is better than none,” so let’s at least bring one Brontë family item home to Haworth!
In addition to this Go Fund Me campaign, BRING THE BRONTES HOME is also hosting a fundraising auction from 23 June to 30 June; if you would like to donate an item or a skill/virtual class to this auction, please fill out this form: https://t.co/jM4laWrQs4?amp=1
We are also holding a Jane Eyre readathon on YouTube from 25 to 27 June. We are in need of readers of all experience levels to read assigned characters from the novel in what will be a kind of dramatized audio book that will be streamed live from Zoom onto YouTube. If you would like to participate in the Jane Eyre readathon, please contact us via Go Fund Me using the "contact" link on this page. Thank you!
Please follow us on Twitter for further updates: @BringBrontesHom
If you are not able to contribute financially at this time, please spread the word about our campaign. Every penny helps, and every voice amplifying this cause is greatly appreciated.
With much love,
Amber and Carolina
Organizer
Amber & Carolina Fundraisers
Organizer
Austin, TX