If the appeal fails, the society most likely will sell the manuscripts to an American university, according to a March 22 London Daily Telegraph report. An autographed copy of Mendelssohn's First Symphony and a letter from Beethoven offering to compose a 10th symphony are also among the manuscripts that the society says it no longer can store. The society, the oldest concert-giving body in England, expects proceeds from the sale to fund an endowment to support young composers and performers and provide music education programs. It is hoped the balance will come from its own coffers as well as the national Heritage Lottery Fund. Rare-Book Viewing Software Unveiled at NLM Software developed by the British Library specifically for viewing rare books made its American debut March 16 at the National Library of Medicine.
Readers can also zoom in to magnify details or call up an audio description of the page.
The first book chosen to be displayed in the U.S. was Elizabeth Blackwell's 1739 volume Curious Herbal, a catalog of medicinal plants containing 500 color plates. The library intends to install the actual book, open but protected in a glass case, near the computer station. Under the direction of Head of Creative Projects Clive Izard, the British Library has already scanned five other books, including the Lindisfarne Gospels, illuminated in the late 7th or 8th century.