The nation’s most historic lending library has become home to a near priceless collection of classic Scottish books.
Several hundred volumes of first editions and rare works dating back to the 16th Century have been donated to Innerpeffray in Perthshire over the past three years.
They have come from the collection of the reclusive US bibliophile Janet St Germain and have seen what was Scotland’s first lending library converted to accommodate the books for display.
The rarity of some of the books — including a “Kilmarnock” Burns — makes it almost impossible to value the collection as a whole, but the library’s governors believe it to be of major importance to the nation.
Janet St Germain — who died in September 2016 at the age of 74 — had long-standing Scottish connections as her mother’s family emigrated across the Atlantic in the 19th Century from Crook of Devon in Kinross-shire.
She herself lived most of her life in New York where she devoted herself to Scottish history and culture and collecting the finest copies of as many classic Scottish first editions as she was able to locate and purchase.
These she added to the already fine collection she had inherited from her father before forging a partnership with Innerpeffray that will benefit generations to come.
The works she donated include first editions of David Hume, Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and John Buchan.
Among her most cherished books was the “Kilmarnock” Burns, which was published in 1786 and swiftly sold out.
Other favourites, now returned to Scotland, were Boswell’s “Life of Samuel Johnson” (1791), a superbly bound “Works of King James” (1616) and an annotated incunabula of the works of Duns Scotus dating to 1478.
The trustees of Innerpeffray have had to make many changes to accommodate the collection, but did so thanks to the backing of the Gannochy Trust and other supporters.
The “Scottish Collection” is now safely ensconced in its new home where it can be enjoyed by all for generations to come.
A series of special exhibitions will be held to show the collection at its best and attract more people to the library so they can see at first hand Scotland’s rich intellectual and literary heritage.
As well as the Scottish Collection, the governors have plans to add a woodland walk and cafe facilities in order to make the library an even more attractive destination in the future.
To mark the arrival of the last of the books and the completion of the project, a tree was planted in the grounds of the library in memory of Janet St Germain and her gift to the home of her ancestors.
