Lyon & Turnbull are delighted to present the Library of Dr Andrew G. Fraser MD FSA Scot (1937-2020), distinguished microbiologist, architectural historian, and leading figure in the conservation movement which saved Edinburgh from the excesses of postwar development.
Born and educated in Edinburgh, Dr Fraser spent his career in the NHS, becoming a clinical consultant at the Royal Infirmary and senior lecturer at the university.
Disturbed by the threatened destruction of Edinburgh’s historic centre, he joined the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, become chair of its publication committee and overseeing the production of its journal, Architectural Heritage. His own book, The Building of Old College: Adam Playfair and the University of Edinburgh, was published in 1989, and the following year he was appointed editor of the Book of the Old Edinburgh Club, seeing ten volumes through the press.
Dr Fraser’s library focuses on the history of Edinburgh while branching out into the Mediterranean world which inspired the builders of Modern Athens in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was his personal resource for his writing and editing work, and by offering it for sale with Lyon & Turnbull his family hope that it may now inspire the next generation of bibliophiles, architectural conservationists, armchair travellers, and all those who know and love the city of Edinburgh.
The library is to be sold as lots 152-178 in our Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs auction on 07 February 2024. An overview of Dr Fraser’s life and achievements is provided by his obituary in The Scotsman, 6 May 2020.
