Concerns that the historic collection of many thousands of items of maritime memorabilia from the Charlestown Shipwreck Treasure Museum in Cornwall were to be sold off will be realised early next month, as they go under the hammer in Penzance.
Divernet reported in August on the possible closure of the museum in St Austell and dispersal of its contents if the property could not be sold as a going concern.
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Sale of the museum’s contents presents a major opportunity for artefact collectors – all the more so because it is being combined with that of “The Shipwreck Archive of Richard Larn OBE”.
Larn, now 93, is among the UK’s foremost-divers and authors of the 20th century, and as a co-founder and director of the museum was responsible for assembling its initial collection in the 1960s and ‘70s.
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The Larn sale includes his personal archive of 1,630 books, extensive research files from his monumental 10-year project Shipwreck Index of the British Isles, charts and hundreds of photographs used in his books. Also included is a selection of wreck artefacts salvaged by Larn himself.
Lay’s Auctioneers of Penzance describes the events as “possibly two of the most exciting sales we’ve ever been asked to handle”, and they will be running them over four consecutive days, with viewings starting on 1 November.
The one-day Larn sale on 5 November is followed by the Charlestown Shipwreck Treasure Museum sale on 6, 7 and 8 November.
Rare and valuable
The museum contains some 7,000 items from shipwrecks including the Mary Rose, Titanic, Lusitania and Royal Charter, and all were offered as part of £1.95 million asking price when the entire property went on the market – a price that appears not to have been met.
Present owner Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project and owner of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, had made contingency plans to auction the exhibits in case it proved impossible to sell the museum and contents as a going concern.
Lay describes the artefacts as “one of the most phenomenal collections of marine archaeology anywhere in the world” and says that some are “hugely rare and valuable”.
Cataloguing the vast museum collection, currently broken up into 1,200 lots “and counting”, had proved both captivating and challenging, stated the auction house. “We constantly found that once we started to look closely, and learn the historical background, we became entranced by the coin or weapon or whatever relic it was, encased in marine concretion that we held in our hands.”
“We have been learning about the history of each ship, how it was wrecked, the lives that were lost, and the experiences of those people in their last terrifying few minutes. It has been an equally educational and humbling experience.”
Key resource
Richard Larn taught himself to dive in the Thames in 1947 using a German Draeger U-boat escape set. After serving in the Merchant Navy in 1950 he joined the Royal Navy, where he remained for 22 years.
He was part of the first team of scuba divers to operate from Dragonfly helicopters, recovering gunnery target drones off Malta. He joined the British Sub-Aqua Club in 1957 and steered the Royal Navy Sub-Aqua Club by leading numerous international diving expeditions.
After researching the Scilly naval disaster of 1707 he discovered and investigated several historic wrecks off the islands, including HMS Association. He founded the commercial diver training centre Prodive as well as what was then the Charlestown Shipwreck & Heritage Centre, which he and his wife Bridget ran until 1998.
Between them the couple wrote more than 65 books, and their six-volume Shipwreck Index of the British Isles remains a key resource for wreck divers, maritime historians and archaeologists. Larn’s 2009 OBE and other accolades recognised his services to marine heritage.
Viewing times in Penzance for the Larn sale are: 1 and 4 November 9am-5pm, 2 November from 9am-1pm, and for the Charlestown Shipwreck Treasure Museum sale at the museum on 2, 3, 4 and 5 November from 9am-4pm.
Both sales, conducted in Penzance and online, start at 10am. Find full details of lots and arrangements at the Lay’s Auctioneers site.
Also on Divernet: Break-up fears for shipwreck treasure collection, Drying-out Diving Museum needs support, Wreck-dive pioneers celebrated in Cornwall, Double the money for Scilly shipwreck coins
