UK blocks export of book used in ’60 obscenity trial

LONDON: The British government used its powers to preserve the nation’s cultural treasures on Monday to halt the export of a tattered paperback copy of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover.”
The copy of the once-scandalous book was used by the judge in the UK obscenity trial of Penguin Books. Penguin was prosecuted in 1960 for publishing D H Lawrence’s novel about an affair between a wealthy woman and her husband’s gamekeeper. It took jurors just three hours of deliberation to find Penguin not guilty, and the case is regarded as a landmark victory for freedom of speech and a sign of changing social mores.
The copy was sold to an anonymous overseas bidder at a Sotheby’s auction in October for 56,250 pounds ($73,000).
The government’s decision halts the export for several months to see whether a buyer can be found to keep it in Britain. Arts minister Michael Ellis said the Chatterley trial “was a watershed moment in cultural history.”