Book Collecting

Book Collecting

Book Collecting, acquisition of books by an individual, institution, or library. Generally used to denote an interest in the acquisition of rare or otherwise exceptional books, the term is sometimes restricted to the activities of bibliophiles, or private book collectors, who specialize in these items.

The rarity and value of a book are determined by certain criteria, many of which are, in fact, irrelevant to the literary merit of the work. Books may be prized because only a limited number of copies were printed, or because they were printed with hand-set type or made with handmade paper, or because costly reproduction processes and binding materials were used. The most desirable books, however, are the first editions (usually small in number of exemplars printed) of books by well-known writers, particularly those whose reputations were established posthumously or late in their writing careers. Incunabula and books published during the earlier phases of printing, from about the middle of the 15th to the late 17th century, were invariably issued in comparatively small editions. Thus, they become increasingly valuable as a result of inevitable losses and injuries to surviving copies through the years.

Rare books that are valuable to bibliophiles because of defects in printing or binding, such as a defective cover, a missing or a superfluous title page, or a significant typographical error, constitute a special category. Finally, some otherwise commonplace books gain value in the rare-book market because of their previous illustrious owners and, in some cases, by inscriptions or marginal comments inserted by these owners. Such works are known as association copies.

Two types of nonprinted matter also figure as objects of value to some bibliophiles: illuminated manuscripts, that is, books handwritten and bound before the invention of printing, and usually richly embellished with ornamental letters and illustrations; and original manuscripts, written or, in the case of modern works, typewritten, or in printer's galleys. The first category has intrinsic artistic and historical importance; the second interests scholars and critics because of changes and corrections made by the writer in the course of creation and editing.

In addition to rare books, bibliophiles may attempt to assemble complete collections in fields of personal interest. Collectors have specialized in travel books, books illustrated by specific artists or printed on private presses, biographies of a particular person, or all the editions of the books of one writer. The book collector who expands an unusual collection over a lifetime helps to preserve books for posterity; many of the world's great scholarly libraries were built on such private collections.

The history of book collecting began at least as early as the founding of the library at Alexandria (see Alexandria, Library of). In the Middle Ages the interest in collecting books for their own sake is expressed in Philobiblon (1473), an autobiographical work by Richard de Bury, bishop of Durham. Fostered by the humanist spirit, the spread of printing, and the general increase in wealth, the great merchants and rulers of the 15th and 16th centuries amassed collections of manuscripts and the first products of the printing presses. Certain rare books command very high prices at auction sales. The sale in London in 1812 of a copy of the first edition of The Decameron by the Italian writer Giovanni Boccaccio brought £ 2260; this was probably the highest price ever paid for a single book since book auctions started in the 17th century. London became the center of the international rare-book market in the 19th century, and certain books became established as standards of historical importance, rarity, and value. Notable among these are the Gutenberg Bible and the first edition of the collected plays of Shakespeare (1623; folio edition), generally known as the First Folio.

About the end of the 19th century the center of book-collecting activity gradually shifted to the United States. Famous American book collectors include John Pierpont Morgan and Henry Edwards Huntington; James Lenox, whose collection formed part of the foundation of the New York Public Library; John Carter Brown, whose Americana collection is now at Brown University; Henry Clay Folger, who founded the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.; and the dealer-collector A. S. W. Rosenbach, who in 1928 successfully bid for the original manuscript of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Rosenbach's magnificent collection of children's books was eventually presented to the Philadelphia Free Library.

The Whole Booke of Psalmes, generally known as the Bay Psalm Book, is generally considered the most valuable book printed in America. In 1947 a copy of this work, the first book printed in the American colonies, was sold to Rosenbach for the record price of $151,000.

Among several publications that provide information on books and bookmaking of interest to collectors are The Colophon (1930-50) and The Book Collector (1952- ). Since the 19th century bibliophiles have formed clubs, the oldest being the Roxburghe Club in London (1812); the first group formed in the U.S. was the Grolier Club (New York City, 1884).

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