A message from the Centre for Printing History and Culture
Thanks to the remarkable support of people in Birmingham, Britain and overseas, Matthew Boulton’s Baskerville family Bible, due to be auctioned by the Assay Office on 26 March 2020, was secured by the Consortium of The Baskerville Society, Centre for Printing History & Culture (Birmingham City University and the University of Birmingham), the Cadbury Research Library, Birmingham Museums Trust, Birmingham Civic Society and the Lunar Society.
It will now remain permanently in Birmingham.
Caroline Archer of the Baskerville Society, who led the Consortium, said, ‘The significance of the Bible ripples across generations and shows how people, from all walks of life, can come together for a common and good purpose.’
The Bible will be housed in Birmingham at the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham, which has the appropriate resources to care for it, alongside the University’s many other Baskerville holdings. The Consortium will commemorate and celebrate the acquisition of the Bible through a series of events to ensure that the Bible provides for public enjoyment, education and opportunities for research for people in Birmingham and further afield.
