The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-01-18 00:00:00

THE DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AT THE
BIRMINGHAM FREE LIBRARY.

A most calamitous fire broke out last Saturday in
the Free Reference Library, attached to the Birming-
ham and Midland Institute at Birmingham, the
whole of the contents of that portion of the building,
inclusive of the world-known "Shakespeare Library,"
being destroyed. Almost directly the fire commenced,
which, as nearly as can be ascertained, was twenty-
five minutes to two o'clock, it showed itself in the
Interior of the Reference Library by smoke issuing
from the shelves of books which had been reared
against the interior of the partition. At this time
both the Reference Library and news room were
occupi4 d by a number of readers, who made attempts
to says some of the valuable bo( ks, especially those
in the "Shakespeare Library," but with little result,
owing to the rapidity with which the fire spread.
The fire brigade showed no want of promptness in their
operatiors, and the steam fire-engine arrived shortly
after two o'clock, but by this time the fire had
rapidly extended from the Reference Library to
the Free Lending Library, which is underneath.
Some volunteers here succeeded in effecting an
entrance through the windows and rescued several
hundreds of volumes, which were thrown to persons
outside and placed in cabs and other vehicles.
The fire continued its course almost unchecked until
the whole of this portion of the extensive buildings was
gutted, nothing but the outer walls remaining. It is said
that the building and its contents were insured in the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Office to the extent of 224,000,
but of course the magnitude of the disaster cannot be
gauged by an pecuniary estimate, many of the volumes
destroyed being absolutely unique. The "Shakespeare
Library" was the most complete collection of folios,
criticisms, translations, and Shakesperian lore gene-
rally in the world. This library alone numbered
8,000 volumes, only a few of which have been
saved. The Reference Library proper contained
about 80,000 volumes, ranging over all departments
of literature, including many rare MSS. and old
editions. The Cervantes collection, which included
almost every known edition, and the -Staunton War-
wickshire collection of prints, drawings, and engrav-
ings illustrating medival and other buildings have
perished. The latter collection had only recently been
purchased by the subscribers to the Midland Institute
at a coat of 0,000. A large number of pamphlets,
books, &c., relating to local history, some of them the
only copies in existence, have been burnt.

The burning of the Birmingham Library has spread
a general feeling of gloom through the town, and
people of all grades appear to regard the loss of
the priceless literary treasures, more particu-
larly of the Reference and Shakespeare Libraries,
as in some sense a personal bereavement. These
libraries were town property, in great part found and
wholly supported by the money of the ratepayers, and
their destruction, therefore, :Pules home to every one.
That they were well appreciated by the public is
shown by the fact that from the Reference Library
alone the issues of books last year were over 300,100,
or nearly one volume per head of the population
of the borough; and if to this number be added the
issues from the Lending Library, the total circulation
of books, exclusive of those issued from the branch
libraries, considerably exceeded half a million per
annum. Including some 3,000 patent specifics.tions,
of great value to the trade of Birmingham, the Re-
ference Library contained over 50,000 volumes, in-
cluding the famous Shakespeare Memorial Library,
which numbered nearly 7,000 volumes, the Staunton
Warwickshire collection, and the Cervantes Library.
The general portion of the Reference Library has
been compiled with great care under the direction
chiefly of Mr. Samuel Timmins, and comprised the
beat works, English and foreign, obtainable in.
nearly every department of human knowledge, in-
cluding theology, history, biography, voyages, and re-
cords of learned societies. Among the collections lost
were many rare local works relating to the early indus-
trial history, archreology, and public institutions of
the town, and some letters of Dr. Johnson. The
Staunton Warwickshire collection purchased some
three years ago, partly by Special subscription and
partly by the committee, was one of the most complete
and valuable collections ever formed. This is the
heaviest loss, because the larger portion consisted of
ancient manuscripts, engravings, portraits, views,
water-colours, and drawings of which no other copy
is known, and representing many old places now
destroyed. One of the rarest and most valuable of
the treasures has been saved, the "Book of St.
Anne at Knowle," giving the history of that
ancient foundation to the dissolution and the
names of generations of donors. The Shakespeare
Memorial Library, the object of which was to secure
every known edition of the poet's works in every lan-
guage and every book about them or their author,
comprised 336 editions of Shakespeare's complete works
in English, including many original folios, 17 in
French, 58 in German, 3 in Danish, 3 in Italian, 4 in
Polish, 2 in Russian, and 1 each in Dutch, Spanish,
Swedish, and Bohemian, besides separate plays in less
known languages. The Cervantes Library, recently
presented by Mr. William Bragge, contained the
fruits of twenty-five years' loving labours devoted
to the collection of nearly all the known editions and
translations of the Spanish author. Of these
various literary treasures only about 1,500 volumes
have been saved, and of these only three belong to the
Staunton collection, about 500 to the Shakespeare
Library, and the remainder to the general Re-
ference Library. Of the Lending Library, the least
valuable part of the collection, consisting of modern
fiction, history, travels, &c., rather more than half,
or, say, 10,000 volumes, have been saved. It is pro-
bable that a few buried treasures may yet be brought
to light when the debris has been more thoroughly
sifted, but it is feared that they will be in a very
rotten and mutilated state, as the ruins have been
deluged with water. A marble statue of the Prince
Consort, by Foley, and the sculptor's original models
of Goldsmith and Burke, which stood in the Lending
Librr 1, have come through the fiery ordeal un-
inj

rary,
tired.

At a meeting of the Library Committee on Monday
evening it was resolved to take active measures at once
to reconstruct the building and reform the libraries on
as complete a scale as possible. The insurance, it was
stated, would entirely cover the damage to the build-
ing, but the £12,000 for which the books were insured
would fall short by at least £lO,OOO of the required
amount. Mr. J. Thackray Bunco stated that he
was authorised by Mr. Joseph Chamberlain,
M.P., to open a subscription in aid of the in-
eurance fund with a donation of £1,500, viz.. £l,OOO
from a special fund bequeathed by Mr. Chamberlain's
mother for public purposes, and £5OO from Mr. Cham-
berlain himself, conditional on the remainder of the
£lO,OOO being raised by public subscription. A further
sum of £l5O was announced from an anonymous donor,
and several of the leading inhabitants have intimated
their intention to subscribe liberally to the restoration
fund,
At a meeting on Monday of the General Committee
of the Birmingham Distress Fund, Alderman Cham-
berlain, M. P., who presided in the absence of the
Mayor, referred to the calamity which had fallen upon
the town. He said the Mayor_ apparently had suffered
from his exertions at the fire on the two previous days,
as he was unable to be present. In the letter of
apology for his non-atteudance the Mayor said
"I seem to realize th 3 loss of our libraries more and more
every hour. I would give all I possess to get them back. It
is the greatest calamity that could befall Birmingham.
These librAries fed and aided the better life of our town, and
were a powerful influence for good among all classes of our
people. Their fame extended throughout Europe and even
to America. I have been so closely attached to them as
chairman of committee for so many years that I seem
to have witnessed the death of a very dear friend—a
feeling which. I am sure, is shared by all those who knew
the priceless treasures they contained."
Alderman -Chamberlain said he did not think that
they were prepared to be cast down so far by their dis-
tress at that new calamity as not to take, and that
promptly, all steps which might be necessary as far as
possible to restore that which they had lose The Re-
ference Library of Birmingham for the moment was
destroyed, but it was their duty, and it would be their
work, to erect new libraries upon the site which should
be as complete, as valuable, and as useful to the popu-
lation of the town as those which had unfortunately
been destroyed.

Considerable progress was made on Tuesday in clearing
and exploring the ruins of the library buildings, and several
Important additions were made to the salvage of the two
previous days. Among the treasures recovered were some
twenty small folios belonging to the Shaker') are library,
which were found in a nearly perfect state, besides a large
number ot badly mutilated awl several costly illuminated
volumes and rare old prints. One or two manuscripts
belonging to the Staunton Collection, including the
brief tor the Plaintiff in the LMOU3 case of "Priestley
v. Archer and Whateley," arising out of the riots of
1791, were also rescued in a fairly perfect state, to-
gether with a few volumes of the Cervantes Collection.
It is apparent now that nearly the whole of the lend-
ing library, -and the complete catalogue of the reference
library have been saved. The three statues by Foley of the
Prince Consort, Goldsmith, and Burke were on Tuesday re-
moved to the new Council Hall. Unfortunately the figure of
Burke, an original clay model, has suffered c msinerably
from the heat, and in process of removal the head came off.
The other statues were little the worse for the ordeal they
had passed tbrough
The project for a subscription in aid of the insurance fund
for the restoration of the library is being warmly taken up,
and the promises already forthcornina leave but little room
to doubt that the whole of the 40,000 required to supple-
ment the insurance will be easily obtained.