Visit to a very special collection

Yesterday I was invited to St Saviours, a fantastic, if not recently storm damaged building, which houses Robert Lenkiewicz private book collection. The room itself has that wonderful smell of musty books mixed with damp. A smell that always hold a sense of mystery for myself. The books occupy two floors, with the books on beautiful  bespoke bookshelves, reaching to the ceiling, each with a place for books to be rested upon, made by a carpenter friend of Roberts before he died. The room is enticing and there is something in the room, that makes it such a pleasure to be there.

The collection of books were purchased by Robert himself during his lifetime and rightly so they haven't been added to, so there is a wonderful sense of magic in the room, that you can only get from being with loved books. The thought that someone purchased this, because he had an interest in them is something wonderful. This isn't a public library, these were brought and read by someone genuinely interested in the topic. I get that feeling whenever I am with a large collection of books, having the connection to Robert, provides an added layer of interest. From looking at his books, you can tell a lot, knowing the collection is about the human condition, but who he was inspired by, there are shelves and shelves of books by or about Rembrandt. There are thousands of books by individual artists, it genuinely is a uplifting and heart warming collection. 

The reason for me being there was because the trust is trying to work out what is the best course of action for the collection, which is a tough conversation. With the building damaged, parts of the collection had to be sold just after Robert's death 12 years ago. I am meant to provide a possible course of action, having spent time wandering the shelves of the library. Looking at the rarity of the books, how useful this is for the city of Plymouth as a whole, but more importantly, in my mind to the artist community. 

I suppose one of the other parts which makes me love this place, is there are still Robert's artifacts lying around, or boxed up. Such as his palate boards, or his boots and a purple lined coffin which at one point must have been a prop, I didn't ask, I was hoping it was nothing more sinister. 

It was such a special day yesterday and luckily St Saviours is only a short walk away from where I work, so I can easily pop over, and be enticed and inspired by such a wonderful atmosphere. For a librarian, this is a marvelous legacy to leave the city, now Plymouth just needs to work out how it can be sorted and viewed.