Mary Eccles, Viscountess Eccles

She was renowned for establishing one of the largest private collections of 18th century literature with her first husband, Donald Hyde (1909-1966).

[1] The couple bought Samuel Johnson's silver teapot in 1941 and threw a tea party in its honour.

Over the next 25 years, they became avid collectors of Johnson's belongings, including hundreds of his letters, several of his diaries and a collection of his poems.

Here they bought up surrounding land and added a library to the property, filling the house with their Samuel Johnson collection.

During the following years, Hyde became well acquainted with many influential figures, including business tycoons, politicians and English aristocrats.

She also wrote Bernard Shaw and Alfred Douglas: A Correspondence and developed an Oscar Wilde collection that was second in size only to that of the University of California.