Autographed Lord of the Rings cards fetch nearly £3k
Mr Ewbank said two young children bid in the auction with their father and bought some Pokémon cards that were also on sale. "It is wonderful to see young people at the saleroom getting the collecting bug," he added.
'Quite unusual'
The set contains 10 autographed cards, signed by actors including Sir Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen - who played Gandalf, Frodo and Aragorn in the film respectively. Cards have also been signed by the actors of Gimli, Pippin, Arwen, Bilbo, Galadriel, Sam and Boromir in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, based on JRR Tolkien's fantasy novels. It also comprises all 162 base set cards, 10 prismatic foil cards, checklist cards, The Legend Comes to Life cards parts one and two, both bonus foils cards and three empty booster packs.
Lord of the Rings tells Brighton bin firm to change name
Mr Ewbank previously said it was "quite unusual" to have a complete set, which would have taken "quite a feat" to collect. "A lot of people in their 30s and 40s would've bought these cards when they were children in the 1990s and early 2000s," he continued. "Trading cards are an increasingly popular area of collecting, attracting a new generation of collectors," said Mr Ewbank.
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Donor ‘shocked' as national library excludes gender-critical book
Scotland's national librarian is facing mounting pressure to reinstate a gender-critical book which she banned from a major exhibition, after a key donor joined a revolt against the move. Alex Graham, who has given around £300,000 to the library, said he had been 'shocked and angry' to learn that The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht had been excluded from an exhibit that he personally supported with a donation of about £20,000. Graham, the creator of the television show Who Do You Think You Are, urged Amina Shah, Scotland's chief librarian and the chief executive of the National Library of Scotland, to reverse her decision. He said that if she did not, he would have to consider whether or not to continue to provide lucrative donations to the library, as he has done for the past 12 years. The critically acclaimed book, a collection of essays by more than 30 women about their role in the feminist campaign against Nicola Sturgeon's gender self-ID law, was set to be included in its Dear Library exhibition, after it was nominated by several members of the public. However, The Times revealed on Wednesday that it was pulled after a backlash by the library's internal LGBT staff network, which claimed it contained 'hate speech' and that displaying it would cause 'severe harm' to workers. They threatened to 'notify LGBT+ partners of the library's endorsement of the book' if management did not cave in. Shah justified the decision by citing the potential impact on 'key stakeholders' and the library's reputation if the gender-critical book was included, but has faced intense opposition after her ban was made public. In a major intervention, Graham called on the library to admit its mistake and reinstate the book to Dear Library, which Shah had publicly thanked him for his role in funding. He said that if it did not, he would have no option but to publicly disassociate himself from the campaign, saying the library had given in to what he claimed was a 'censorious, bullying culture' instead of standing up for ideals of free speech. The book's editors, Lucy Hunter Blackburn and Susan Dalgety, have branded the removal of their work 'cowardly and anti-democratic' and repeated their call for the decision to be reversed. 'I think this was a fundamental mistake and the correct thing for the library to do would be to put up their hands, admit that and reinstate the book,' Graham said. 'Instead, there have been weaselly responses. 'The library is not saying they have taken it out because it contains hate speech, because it does not. They've taken it out because of some ill-conceived notion that someone might be upset by its presence. That's not a good enough reason for me.' Graham added: 'This is not about taking one side or the other on the trans debate. It's about the principles of open debate and free speech, which to the national library should be sacrosanct. 'It isn't too late to redeem the situation. But if there is not a change of heart, I feel I will have no choice but to publicly dissociate myself from the exhibition and the campaign that surrounds it. 'This stupid escapade does not undo the very good work the library does, but it should never have happened. 'I couldn't say definitely that I will not donate any more money if they stick to their guns on this, but it has certainly given me pause for thought. That makes me incredibly sad.' Shah, who last year received a salary of between £105,000 and £110,000 in addition to pension contributions of £41,000, decided to exclude the book with the support of Sir Drummond Bone, the chairman of the National Library of Scotland (NLS). An insider within the cultural sector in Scotland said the decision was symptomatic of a wider trend of managers being seen to cave in to demands of young, activist staff members who have little resilience or tolerance of views different to their own. Graham became a major donor to the NLS as he credited free access to books at Cambuslang public library in his childhood as shaping his life and allowing him to go on to pursue a highly successful career in television. He sold his television company, Wall to Wall, in which he purchased a 33 per cent share for £1 in 1987, for about £25 million two decades later. Although the library receives the bulk of its funding from the Scottish government, private donors such as Graham, who has been repeatedly acknowledged by the library for his philanthropy, are also essential to its work. Graham has been one of the library's major donors over the past decade, funding major projects such as the digitisation of medieval manuscripts. He funds a scholarship at the library which is named in his honour, as is a room at the National Library of Scotland's moving image library at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. Graham's generosity in supporting the centenary celebrations was singled out for praise by Shah at the launch of the Dear Library exhibition in June. Graham said he was initially impressed with it, before discovering that The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht, which included a contribution from JK Rowling, had been excluded. 'On the opening night of the exhibition, I thought it was fantastic, because I found at least two books in there that I consider to be among the worst ever written,' Graham said. 'I said to Amina I thought that was great, because the whole point was that while some people are inspired by a book, others will hate it. That's the joy of the society we live in and the freedom that we have. 'There are books that are beyond the pale, but there are very few of them. You need to be very careful before you ban anything. 'This book [The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht] was clearly selected to be included, and frankly the management were then bullied out of that by a staff lobby group. 'They say they've removed this book to protect relationships with stakeholders. But they certainly didn't consult me and if they had, I would have voiced strong opposition. I am angry and disappointed at the decision to remove the book as well as the implication that as a stakeholder, I am somehow supportive of it, which I am not.' Kate Forbes, the deputy first minister, has found herself at the centre of a similar row after staff and performers at Edinburgh's Summerhall arts venue criticised her views on trans rights. Summerhall's bosses said Forbes had been permitted to speak at the venue as 'an oversight' after some of the artists set up a 'safe room' while the 5ft 2in politician was present as they were 'terrified' because of her opinions. A whistleblower who works within the arts sector in Scotland said that activist staff members were becoming increasingly powerful within major publicly funded institutions. 'I have been in so many meetings where it is just taken as a given that everyone there is in lockstep on these issues — that everyone hates JK Rowling and that books like The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht are dangerous and harmful,' a source claimed. 'The internal LGBT networks are given carte blanche and it is very isolating to those of us who do not agree with their extreme views, who are forced to self-censor or face, at best, being socially ostracised at work. 'It sounds ridiculous but those of us who don't agree with them feel like we're in an underground network like the French resistance or something, secretly sending each other supportive messages.' The insider added: 'A major part of the problem across the cultural sector is the infantilisation of younger staff members, who can't cope with any type of conflict or opposition to their views. 'This has now led to the ridiculous situation where people intolerant of ideas and books are not only working in our national library, but are calling the shots. Management are terrified and pander to them every time they have a tantrum.' The NLS has sought to defend its decision not to platform the book at its exhibition by claiming there were only 200 spaces for public display, and it received more than 500 nominations. However, documents released under a freedom of information request show that all books with two or more nominations were initially to be included in the public display, with the Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht obtaining four. Joanna Cherry, the former SNP MP and one of the essayists in the book, accused Shah of attempting to mislead her own staff with a message that claimed the library was not 'banning or censoring' books. Although the library does hold a copy of the book — a legal obligation given its statutory role — its exclusion from the Dear Library exhibition was the direct result of complaints from the LGBT staff network who did not like its contents, the documents show. 'I'm concerned that the librarian seems to be misleading her staff as well as the public and the media about what has occurred here,' Cherry said. 'The issue is not whether the book is available within the library's collections but her decision to withdraw it from an exhibition where it had rightly earned its place because of the prejudiced demands of a small group of her staff.' Cherry added: 'There is an increasing pattern in Scottish society where zealots masquerading as LGBTQ+ activists seek to censor women who want to talk about their rights. 'This book was written by feminists, survivors and lesbians. To remove it from an exhibition is not only an attack on freedom of expression, it is also discriminatory.' Hunter Blackburn said: 'We are very saddened that it has come to this, but we understand why Mr Graham has reached what must have been a very difficult decision for him. 'We will continue to seek for this to be resolved by the library making an unreserved apology, putting the book back in the exhibition where it won its rightful place, and, it becomes increasingly clear, undertaking a root-and-branch review of its internal culture and practices.' A spokeswoman for the NLS said: 'We are engaged in a robust and respectful conversation with Mr Graham about this matter, and we will accept his decision regardless of the outcome. 'It goes without saying we are indebted to Mr Graham for his support to the national library over the years. His assistance has helped us to preserve collections, reach new audiences and give young people's careers that much needed start through our apprenticeship programme.'
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