BOOK lovers are being asked to help protect a precious collection by adopting historic volumes.

Durham Cathedral is trying to raise funds for repairs on more than 100 books in its collection.

Among them are five volumes of Jan Jansson’s Novus Atlas dating back to 1646, John Nichols’ Collection of the wills of the Kings and Queens of England from 1780 and the 1743 work by George Edwards, the father of British ornithology, A natural history of uncommon birds.

Cathedral patron Peter Bright, from Buckinghamshire, has already pledged to adopt the Musurgia universalis by Athanasius Kircher in memory of his grandfather, former university librarian.

He said: “I chose Athanasius Kircher's Musurgia universalis because of his enormous range of interests comparable to Leonardo da Vinci, and because these included studies under a microscope.

“My father Thomas Bright excelled in microscope use, researching yeast for much of his working life; the link with him as well as my mother’s father is very precious.”

Durham Cathedral’s Head of Collections, Lisa Di Tomasso, said: “The Cathedral’s collection is home to some of the world’s most important examples of early printed books and manuscripts but as with so many items of this age, they require restoration and repair work.

“We hope that, like Peter, people who choose to sponsor a book will enjoy selecting one that means something personal to them or simply choose to sponsor a book because they enjoy knowing they are helping to preserve and protect these fragile but highly important books for generations to come.”

For more information, please contact Sophia Stovall on 0191 374 4055 or email sophia.stovall@durhamcathedral.co.uk