| Description |
In the summer of 1916, the then owner of the Britwell Court Library, Mr. S. R. Christie-Miller, sent a small portion of his material to Messrs Sotheby in London to be catalogued for sale. It was a period of high competition and enthusiasm in the rare book business and both Dr. A.S.W. Rosenbach and George D. Smith expressed interest in buying the collection privately. Mr. Smith, then acting on behalf of Henry E. Huntington, bought the entire catalogue contents for what is said to have been 40,000 pounds. Mr. Huntington soon after selected material from this group and sent the balance to auction At Anderson Galleries, in New York, as Sale No. 1269, "Selections and Duplicates, Part III From Mr. H. E. Huntington's Library - Extraordinary Collection of Americana - comprising the principal part of the famous Christie-Miller Collection. |
