The most beautiful libraries in the world / photographs by Guillaume de Laubier ; text by Jacques Bosser ; foreword by James H. Billington ; translated from the French by Laurel Hirsch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Laubier, Guillaume de.

Contributor:

Bosser, Jacques.

Hirsch, Laurel, trl.

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Standardized Title:

Bibliothèques du monde. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Library buildings.

Library architecture.

Libraries.

Library buildings--Pictorial works.

Library architecture--Pictorial works.

Libraries--Pictorial works.

Library decoration--Pictorial works.

Library decoration.

Bibliotecas--Edificios.

Bibliotecas--Arquitectura.

Bibliotecas.

Local Subjects:

Bibliotecas--Edificios.

Bibliotecas--Arquitectura.

Bibliotecas.

Genre:

Pictorial works.

Illustrated works.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)

Physical Description:

247 pages : color illustrations ; 30 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Harry N. Abrams, 2003.

Summary:

Here, for the first time, architectural photographer Guillaume de Laubier takes the reader on a privileged tour of twenty-three of the world's most historic libraries, representing twelve countries and ranging from the great national monuments to scholarly, religious, and private libraries: the baroque splendor of the Institut de France in Paris; the Renaissance treasure-trove of the Riccardiana Library in Florence; the majestic Royal Monastery in El Escorial, Spain; the hallowed halls of Oxford's Bodleian Library; and the New York Public Library, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece. Also included are the smaller abbey and monastic libraries - often overlooked on tourist itineraries - each containing its own equally important collections of religious and philosophical writings, manuscripts, and church history. Through color photography one can marvel at the grandeur of the great public libraries while relishing the rare glimpses inside scholars-only private archives.

Contents:

Vienna, Austria, National Library of Austria

Admont, Austria, The Benedictine Abbey Library of Admont

Ulm, Germany, The Monastic Library at Wiblingen

Metten, Germany, The Benedictine Abbey Library of Metten

Wiemar, Germany, The Herzogin Anna Amalia Library

Rome, Italy, The Vatican Library

Florence, Italy, Riccardiana Library

Paris, France, The Mazarine Library

Paris, France, The Institute Library

France, Paris, The Senate Library

Chantilly, France, The Cabinet des Livres of the Duc d'Aumale

Saint Gall, Switzerland, The Abbey Library of Saint Gall

Oxford, England, Bodleian Library

Cambridge, England, Wren Library, Trinity College

Manchester, England, The John Rylands Library

Dublin, Ireland, Trinity College Library

Prague, The Czech Republic, The National Library

San Lorenzo del Escorial, Spain, The Library of the Royal Monastery of El Escorial

Mafra, Portugal, The National Palace Library in Mafra

Boston, United States of America, Boston Athenaeum

Washington, D.C., United States of America, The Library of Congress

New York, United States of America, The New York Public Library

Saint Petersburg, Russia, National Library of Russia.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 246).

Local Notes:

Gotham Book Mart Collection copy has dustjacket retained.

ISBN:

0810946343

9780810946347

OCLC:

52301500