He was a patron of the Aldine Press that had been founded by the prominent Renaissance printer, typographer, editor and publisher Aldus Manutius the Elder.ĭuring the Reformation many monastic libraries were broken up, and their contents often destroyed. Grolier owned a library of 3,000 volumes and was known for his love of the Latin classics and of richly decorated bookbindings.
Jean Grolier, the Treasurer-General of France, was an important bibliophile and book collector of this period. With the advent of the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century, which resulted in cheaper and more abundant books, and with the contemporaneous economic, social and political changes of the Renaissance, book collecting received a great impetus. Philip the Good brought together a collection of "about six hundred manuscripts in his possession at the height of his reign", which was the largest private collection of his day.
In 1344 the English bishop Richard de Bury wrote The Philobiblon, in which he praised the love and appreciation of books.
Seneca the Younger was skeptical of those who collect books they do not read, asking: "What is the use of possessing numberless books and libraries, whose titles their owner can hardly read through in a lifetime?" Book collectors in western antiquity prized accurate transcription and high-quality materials. Xenophon wrote disparagingly of a man who tried to collect more books than his friends. In surviving accounts there are references to bibliophile book collectors in that era. In the ancient world, papyri and scrolls (the precursors of the book in codex form) were collected by both institutions and private individuals. The Private Libraries Association also covers modern fine printing, but is much more general in its outlook. Some collectors join associations such as The Fine Press Book Association, which is aimed at collectors of modern fine printing. For example, a first edition “And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street” can reach the price of $12,000 in the best condition. Book prices generally depend on the demand for a given edition which is based on factors such as the number of copies available, the book's condition, and if they were signed by the author (and/or editor or illustrator, if applicable) or by a famous previous owner. Collectors of lesser means may collect works by a favorite author, first editions of modern authors, or books of a certain genre. Wealthy book collectors pursue rarities such as the Gutenberg Bible, and Shakespeare's First Folio, books which are both famous and extremely valuable. Just like hard copy books, audio books can be accumulated over many years. Users of these sites can purchase a large library of books that they can access at any time using a phone, tablet, or computer. And there are independent booksellers that can be found online by searching key words such as: books, books for sale, bookseller, bookstore, rare books, collectibles, etc.īooks traditionally were only printed on paper and then pages were bound together however, in the past decade or so, books are also available in audio format through websites such as Audible, Google Audiobooks, Librivox, Kobo Audiobooks, and Downpour. Large book sellers include AbeBooks, Alibris, Amazon, and. The love of books is bibliophilia, and someone who loves to read, admire, and a person who collects books is often called a bibliophile but can also be known as an bibliolater, meaning being overly devoted to books, or a bookman which is another term for a person who has a love of books.īook collecting can be easy and inexpensive: there are millions of new and used books which are available in brick and mortar bookstores as well as online bookstores. Field, Bryce, Woolf, and Asimovīook collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. Some inexpensive collectible books: these are, left to right, by Tyndall, Collingwood, H.
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