Mystery book sculptures to be auctioned in Edinburgh

Auction house Lyon & Turnbull says the mysterious backstory is part of the charm

This is a story which began with a book. Not any ordinary book, but a delicately crafted paper sculpture of a tree, "growing" from an old book.

It was left on a table in the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh, with the message: "It started with your name @byleaveswelive and became a tree. We know that a library is so much more than a building full of books. A book is so much more than pages full of words. This is for you, in support of libraries, books, words, ideas."

That was in March 2011, and as word spread about the mysterious gift, and visitors came to see it, another one was found. And then another.

Across the year, ten works were found around the city. There was much speculation about the artist.

In the book Gifted, published in 2012, the sculptor wrote that at the heart of the project was "a woman, who had been a girl, whose life would have been less rich had she been unable to wander freely into libraries, art galleries and museums. A woman who, now all grown, still wants access to these places and yes, wants them for her children...".

But her identity remained a secret, even as her work toured Scotland, and attracted international attention.

Each book sculpture represents a classic of Scottish literature

The Scottish Book Trust commissioned the artist to make five new works for their first ever Scottish book week in 2012.

Each represented a classic of Scottish literature, Tam O'Shanter by Robert Burns; Whisky Galore, by Compton Mackenzie; Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie; Lanark, by Alasdair Gray; and Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Each was hidden in a different place round Scotland, with clues to their whereabouts released daily. The person to reach it first each day received a paper sculpture trophy.

Now those five books are being auctioned by the Scottish Book Trust, who insisted on paying the artist for her work (she agreed, but only on the proviso that she use the money to buy time to make the thirty bird cages which appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival the following year)

With a starting bid of £800 and guide price of £1,000-£1,500, they will be available to view by appointment at Lyon & Turnbull's Edinburgh sale room in Broughton Place, Edinburgh, in the lead-up to the online auction between 25 January and 1 February.

For Cathy Marsden, a specialist in rare books at Lyon & Turnbull, their mysterious backstory is part of the charm.

"They definitely fall between two areas," she said. "They start out as books, but become works of art.

"They're iconic and the whole story of their mysterious arrival at cultural institutions still fascinates people and I think will garner interest for the auction."

Five works from the first Scottish book week in 2012 are going under the hammer

Marc Lambert, CEO of the Scottish Book Trust agreed: "The artist's mantra was always about support for reading, for books, for libraries and that's as important today as it ever was.

"Many children are growing up without access to books or owning their own books at home, and since the pandemic the situation has worsened.

"Without books, children are missing out and we know the impact of this lasts a lifetime."

As for the artist, she remains a mystery. In 2015, she told the BBC she never intended the gifts to be viewed as artworks, or even last. So what does she make of plans to sell the five works?

"I always felt that the sculptures were a poor attempt to communicate the transformative magic that happens when a book is read," she said.

"I couldn't be more delighted that by auctioning them off, they might be turned into real books."