James Ludovic Lindsay (1847–1913), 26th Earl of Crawford, was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. From a young age, he was interested in astronomy and built an observatory with his father. His father was an avid collector of books and manuscripts, a passion that he inherited. Together, they acquired numerous volumes, eventually forming one of the largest private libraries of the time (Hodgson, 2017). In 1901, the earl sold his collection to Henrietta Rylands for £155,000 (West, 2000; Gow, 2023).
HODGSON, John (2017): "Class Acts: The Twenty-Fifth and Twenty-Sixth Earls of Crawford and Their Manuscript Collections", Tesis doctoral. University of Manchester, Mánchester.
WEST, Susie (2000): "Rare Books and Rare Women: Gender and Private Libraries 1660-1830", en Gendering Library History, editado por Evelyn Kerslake y Nickianne Moody, Liverpool John Moores University Press, Liverpool.