Description

In 1822-1823, the obsessive British collector Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872) spent a year in Switzerland planning to reduce his spending on books. Yet, by the time he returned to England, he had bought some 850 manuscripts and printed volumes. The historical context of these acquisitions offers a unique case study of the workings of the Swiss market in rare books in the first half of the nineteenth century. The Antiquarian Book Trade in Switzerland shows how this market was organised, how booksellers gathered and sold their stock, what kinds of books were available for sale, and the repercussions of Phillipps's purchases on the formation of libraries in the twentieth century. Combining archival research, the survey of sale and library catalogues, and the material analysis of books, this monograph argues that the Swiss book trade was a thriving business led by professional and amateur dealers who sold rare and modern volumes in shops, private houses, and religious institutions. Phillipps's motives for obtaining these items (and those of the owners who bought them after his death) also indicate that books were acquired for their aesthetic quality and prestige, historical and literary research, and political purposes. Illustrating the changing values assigned to books, this study demonstrates how many of these volumes became treasures of the world's cultural heritage.