COLLECTORS of mountaineering literature are being offered the rare chance to acquire second-hand copies of some of the most notable and fascinating mountaineering books of the past 120 years, which are on sale at Ambleside’s Armitt Museum and Library.

Described by one keen collector as “a once in a lifetime opportunity,” the books now being offered for sale arrived at the Armitt in spring 2014 when library of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club was established in its new home at the Armitt Museum. In the weeks before the move, the FRCC’s librarian Peter Lucas set about the huge task of removing the many duplicate volumes, which have been donated to the club over the last century.

The duplicate volumes have been given to the Armitt to sell, and part of the proceeds will be used for the conservation of many other rare and valuable books within the FRCC library and also to promote interest in the historic collections held within Armitt Library.

The books for sale range geographically from the Himalayas to the Alps: “In fact wherever there is a mountain, the Armitt bookshop has books about them,” explains Armitt curator Deborah Walsh.

“There are books about the mountain ranges of Eastern Europe, Russia, Scandinavia and the Arctic regions, also the Canadian Rockies down to the Andes.

“We also have a significant collection relating to British and Irish mountaineering and a large number of rare and collectible works."

Highlights include The Fight for Everest 1924 by EP Norton (1925); a signed copy of High Adventure by Edmund Hilary (1955); New Climbs in Norway by EC Oppenheim (1898); Rock Climbing in the English Lakes by Owen Gwyn Jones (1897); My Climbs in the Alps and Caucasus by AF Mummery (1895); Blank on the Map by Eric Shipton (1938) and many, many more.

The Armitt bookshop, which is part of the Armitt’s Museum and Library in Rydal Road, is open Monday-Saturday, 10am- 4.30pm.

For further information email info@armitt.com.