James S Copley Library to go on sale - 22/01/2010

The James S Copley Library is to go under the hammer at Sotheby's New York in April of this year, it has been revealed.

Highlights of the collection will be put on display from January 16th to 23rd, ahead of what will be one of the most highly anticipated literature sales in modern times.

Copley's library includes a vast quantity of letters and original manuscripts from a number of esteemed artists, scientists and musicians.

David Redden, vice chairman of Sotheby's, said: "The Copley Library is of a scale that can likely never again be achieved by a private collector.

"While institutional in scope and significance, the manuscripts and books in the Library clearly reflect the discernment of a passionate collector and equally passionate patriot."

While the collection is views as a reflection of historical advances in the US, there are also a number of correspondences from non-American notables, such as Albert Einstein, Charlotte Bronte and Tchaikovsky.

According to Copley's curator Richard Reilly, the collector wanted "every item to represent dramatic, humorous, romantic, passionate, or tragic events in the lives of real people unconsciously caught in the weave of American history."