A collection of books originally held by the Northern Lighthouse Board will be sold by Lyon & Turnbull at auction on the 13th January 2010. The proceeds of the sale will assist the recently established Northern Lighthouse Heritage Trust in its charitable aims and will include helping with the ongoing upkeep of a library, much of which was collected by the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses up to the mid 19th Century. Douglas Gorman, from the Northern Lighthouse Board said “The Commissioners do not have funds to pay for the care and conservation of books within the library. We have therefore transferred the collection of books in our care to the Northern Lighthouse Heritage Trust. One of the responsibilities of the Trust will be to help preserve and conserve some items acquired by the Commissioners but no longer needed to support their statutory role that is funded from commercial shipping. Following professional cataloguing the Trust has identified an element of the collection it considers is relevant to, and part of, the Scottish lighthouse heritage. This will be retained and conserved for future reference by those interested in that heritage. The remaining books in the collection, while of great general interest, do not, in the view of the Trust, form an essential part of the lighthouse heritage and, after consultation with the National Library of Scotland it has decided to offer these for sale. The proceeds of the sale will be used to support the future work of the Trust.” The collection includes works by Capt. James Cook, d’Entrecasteaux, la Perouse, Matthew Flinders, Lord Anson, Capt. Sir Edward Belcher, Sir John Barrow, William Scoresby, John Franklin, Capt. George Vancouver, Capt. Edward William Parry, Sir John Ross and François Péron. Alex Dove, book specialist at Lyon & Turnbull, said "This is a great collection of 18th & 19th century travel books, depicting some of the histories’ great voyages from the exotic climes of Indonesia and Australasia to those closer to home around the Scottish coast.” The Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses owe their origin to the Act 26 George III Cap 101 dated 1786 which appointed nineteen Commissioners to carry out the Act which stated in its preamble that "it would conduce greatly to the security of navigation and the fisheries if four lighthouses were erected in the northern parts of Great Britain". Over the succeeding two hundred years the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses have continued this role and are today the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man, with responsibility for the superintendence and management of all lighthouses, buoys and beacons. Today there are over 400 physical aids complemented by a mix of radio navigation aids for the safety of all mariners engaged in general navigation irrespective of who pays for the service, the size or type of the vessel, her equipment fit, the competence of her crew, or her flag. This is summed up by the Commissioners’ motto "In Salutem Omnium" - For the Safety of All. For more information contact Philip Gregory on 07767 668400 philip.gregory@lyonandturnbull.comBack to Press Releases