The library : a fragile history / Andrew Pettegree and Arthur Der Weduwen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pettegree, Andrew, author.

Weduwen, Arthur der, author.

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Libraries--History.

Libraries.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

518 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm

Edition:

First US edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Basic Books, 2021.

Summary:

Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with beanbags and children's drawings--the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident. In The Library, the first major work of its kind, historians Andrew Pettegree and Arthur der Weduwen trace this extraordinary history, from the famous collections of the ancient world to the embattled public resources we cherish today. Along the way, they introduce us to the antiquarians and philanthropists who shaped the world's great collections, trace the rise and fall of technologies, ideologies, and tastes, and reveal the high crimes and misdemeanors committed in pursuit of rare and valuable manuscripts. Very often, they find, libraries flourish in the hands of their first owner, then waste away as collections that represented the values and interests of one generation fail to speak to the one that follows. Yet while collections themselves fall victim to damp, dust, moths, and bookworms, the idea of the library persists, as each generation makes--and remakes-- the institution anew. Beautifully written and deeply researched, The Library is essential reading for booklovers, collectors, and anyone who has ever gotten blissfully lost in the stacks. -- From dust jacket.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. 1 Inception and Survival

1. A Confusion of Scrolls

2. Sanctuary

3. Little Monkeys and Letters of Gold

pt. 2 The Crisis of Print

4. The Infernal Press

5. Coming of Age

6. Reformations

pt. 3 The New Collectors

7. The Professionals

8. Idle Books and Riff Raff

9. Mission Fields

pt. 4 Between Public and Private

10. Grand Designs

11. Cardinal Errors

12. The Antiquarians

pt. 5 Fictions

13. Orderly Minds

14. Building Empires

15. Reading on the Job

pt. 6 The War on Books

16. Surviving the Twentieth Century

17. Wrestling with Modernity

18. Libraries, Books and Politics.

Notes:

Originally published in 2021 in Great Britain by Profile Books Ltd.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 461-502) and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Garrison fund bookplate.

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Other Edition:

Reproduction of

ISBN:

9781541600775

1541600770

OCLC:

1241244230

Publisher Number:

99993021246