In 1927 he wrote an article in the "Bookman", entitled "The Tragedy of Sir Isaac Newton's Library". Newton's library had remained intact, but unrecognised, in the possession of the Wykeham-Musgrave family of Barnsley Park until 1920. In that year much of it had been sold, with no realisation of its significance, at a low price, and many volumes pulped. However, some purchasers discovered that their books had been Newton's. Following the publication of his article, de Villamil visited Barnsley Park and identified 860 books as having belonged to the scientist.