UK: Darwin’s Letters and Lennon’s Lyrics Donated to Libraries Through Acceptance in Lieu Tax Scheme

From the BBC:

Charles Darwin’s letters and John Lennon’s lyrics have been given to the public under a scheme which accepts cultural artefacts in place of tax.

Taxpayers also handed over sculptures by Barbara Hepworth and a painting by Mark Rothko through the Acceptance In Lieu scheme over the past year.
In total, 30 collections, worth £49.4m, were handed over in 2012-13, said Arts Council England.
[Clip]
The Lennon archive, which includes handwritten lyrics to Strawberry Fields Forever, is housed in the British Library.
It also features an early draft of In My Life, which featured on the Beatles’ album Rubber Soul, with a line about Penny Lane crossed out.
They were donated by Beatles biographer Hunter Davies in lieu of £120,000 tax.
Cambridge University Library will receive the Darwin papers, which represent the earliest known examples of the scientist’s handwriting.
They include letters written to a (possibly imaginary) friend, and a two-page prayer he wrote at Edinburgh University.

Read the Complete Article
Learn More About the “Acceptance in Lieu” Scheme
The program began since 1910.
Learn About All 30 Items Donated to UK  Museums and Libraries During 2012-2013
The donations are valued at £49.4m ($79.47 million/USD).

Filed under: Academic Libraries, Journal Articles, Libraries, News