The early nineteenth century was a period of feverish book
collecting among the well-to-do in Britain and the rest of
Europe. One important collection of books in England was that of
a lady called Frances Richardson Currer of Eshton Hall in
Yorkshire. Thomas Dibdin, Earl Spencer’s librarian at Althorpe,
thought she was the most important female book collector in
Europe – not that there would have been that many! She also
owned a substantial art collection and was a generous patron of
local institutions. The core of the collection at Eshton was
formed by the botanical and historical books of Frances’ great-
grandfather, the physician and botanist Richard Richardson
(1663–1741). A catalogue made in the life-time of Frances Currer
reveals her interest in works on religion. She never married and
after her death in 1861, her library (consisting of an estimated
20,000 volumes) was sold by her heirs. The main sale, at
Sotheby’s on 30 July 1862, raised about £6000. At a second sale,
in 1916, more than £3700 was made.