Expert S Submission

Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest: Note of case hearing on 2 December 2009: A collection of Thomas Hardy Typescripts (Case 12, 2009-10)

Application

1. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) met on 2 December 2009 to consider an application to export a collection of typescripts from the first dramatisations of Thomas Hardy’s novels and short stories as used by The Hardy Players. The value shown on the export licence application was £50,000, which represented an agreed sale price. The expert adviser had objected to the export of the collection under the first and third Waverley criteria, i.e. on the grounds that it was so closely connected with our history and national life that its departure would be a misfortune, and that it was of outstanding significance for the study of the dramatic adaptation and staging of the works of Thomas Hardy and their reception by the local community that had inspired them.

2. The eight regular RCEWA members present were joined by three independent assessors, acting as temporary members of the Committee.

3. The applicant confirmed that the value did not include VAT and that VAT would be payable in the event of a UK sale. The applicant also confirmed that the owner understood the circumstances under which an export licence might be refused and that, if the decision on the licence was deferred, the owner would probably allow the collection of typescripts to be displayed for fundraising, depending upon the context.

Expert’s submission

4. The expert had provided a written submission stating that the collection met the first Waverley criterion in that it was so closely associated with the life of a particular region, one given an enduring literary identity as Hardy’s Wessex, that its departure would be a misfortune. It also met the third Waverley criterion in being the most important and coherent body of evidence surviving in this country for the study of the dramatic adaptation of the works of Thomas Hardy and their reception by the local community. The Hardy Players’ programme for the adaptation and staging of Hardy’s works was a remarkable and sustained example of the appropriation of a major literary figure by the community and the region that had inspired him, carried on with his knowledge and consent and sometimes with his direct participation. Their mission was to use Hardy’s works to promote a sense of regional identity. These records, with their annotated prompt copies and actors’ parts, giving the dialogue as actually delivered and the stage business as performed, and their direct evidence of the scenery and settings, are the closest we can now get to the experience. The expert adviser stated that the collection was also important for the study of Thomas Hardy himself, whose involvement with The Hardy Players was closer than he had sometimes admitted. Finally, the expert adviser stated that no comparable group of material is known in a public collection in this country. The Dorset County Museum (DCM), otherwise the largest and most important Hardy archive in the world, has a rather fragmented record, with only one prompt book, intermittent actors’ parts, and some adaptations not represented.

5. At the hearing the expert adviser told the Committee that, at the time she had objected to the export of the collection, she had been in possession of a list supplied by the DCM of their holdings relating to The Hardy Players. In her view, the DCM’s holdings were not an adequate substitute for the collection under consideration because the latter contained elements not represented at DCM, including material for all of the major productions, as well as five prompt copies

Applicant’s submission

6. The applicant had stated in a written submission that, while he believed the collection of typescripts was important, it was not of the calibre of the “national treasures” given in the Quinquennial Review’s elucidation of the Waverley criteria. Those items, such as the archive related to Newton’s Principia and the warrant for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, offered a unique insight into the national identity. In the applicant’s opinion, the collection under consideration was not unique because there was a similar collection at DCM. The applicant stated that approximately 40 years ago the collection had been offered for sale, not only to the DCM, but also to the Dorset Record Society (DRS) and the Dorset County Library (DCL). At that time, the Head Librarian of the DCL had written that he was not interested in purchasing the collection because the DCL already had a complete photocopy set of all of the dramatisations. The other two institutions also declined to purchase. In the applicant’s view, it seemed reasonable to conclude from this that the collection could not be of major importance to the study of local history.

7. Prior to the hearing the applicant made a second written submission to the Committee. In it, he stated that, in his opinion, the collection could not be considered a national treasure because the holdings of the DCM relating to The Hardy Players were not only comparable to it, but were in fact superior. The submission included a list supplied by the DCM of their holdings.

Discussion by the Committee

8. The expert adviser and the applicant retired and the Committee discussed the case. The general view was that the holdings at DCM were no substitute for the collection under consideration. Rather than either collection cancelling the other out, the two were mutually enhancing. Some of the members did not think that material which documented the reception of a writer, rather than his life or works, could be of outstanding importance to national heritage. However, the majority of members felt that there was a strong case for regional significance. The material, especially the annotated prompt copies, represented the closest we could get to the actual experience of an original Hardy Players Production. The collection was embedded in the identity of the south-west of England, the inspiration for Hardy’s ‘Wessex’, and therefore had a close association with that region’s history and life. Some members were also of the view that the collection was important for study, but the majority remained unconvinced.

Waverley Criteria

9. The Committee voted on whether the collection of typescripts met the Waverley criteria. Six members voted that it met the first Waverley criterion with five voting against. None of the members voted that it met the second Waverley criterion. Five members voted that it met the third Waverley criterion with six voting against. The collection was therefore found to meet the first Waverley criterion.

Matching offer

10. The Committee recommended the sum of £50,000 (excluding VAT) as a fair matching price.

Deferral period

11. The Committee agreed to recommend to the Secretary of State that the decision on the export licence should be deferred for an initial period of two months. If, within that period, MLA received notification of a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase the collection of typescripts, the Committee recommended that there should be a further deferral period of two months.

Communication of findings

12. The expert adviser and the applicant returned. The Chairman notified them of the Committee’s decision on its recommendations to the Secretary of State. When asked by the Chairman whether the owner would accept a matching offer at the price recommended by the Committee if the decision on the licence was deferred by the Secretary of State, the applicant said that he would need to confer on this question.

Subsequent developments

13. After the hearing, the applicant confirmed in writing that the owner was willing to accept a matching offer at the price recommended by the Committee if the decision on the licence was deferred by the Secretary of State.