Connery and Rowling back bid for Murray archive

A campaign for The John Murray archive is being supported by a host of celebrities to raise £5,000,000 so the archive can be saved. Amongst the celebrity names are Sir Sean Connery and author J.K. Rowling.

The John Murray archive includes 155,000 items like letters and manuscripts from great names such as Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, Jane Austin, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; the campaign hopes to make the archive more accessible.

The archive was built up by the Murray family publishing business that was based in Edinburgh Scotland. The archive was sold to the National Library by John Murray for £31.2 million so it would remain in the UK.

Sir Sean Connery had this to say, “The collection is of world-class importance. There will be something for everyone, from five year olds to academics.”

The National Library of Scotland director of development, Giles Dove said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive Sir Sean’s endorsement for the public phase of this campaign. We are very grateful for his support as we continue in our efforts to raise the remaining £5,000,000 required to complete the acquisition of the archive.”