Pre-nineteenth-century British Book Collectors and Bibliographers


Book Description

Essays on British book collectors and bibliographers from the fourteenth through the eighteenth centuries. This period marked the growth of humanism and coincides with the early Renaissance, before the widespread establishment of print culture. Focuseson the historical evolution of a specific library, as well as a collecting family. Discusses the nature and variety of collecting as a cultural activity.




Nineteenth-century British Book-collectors and Bibliographers


Book Description

An eclectic view of the book and manuscript collecting and bibliographical activity during nineteenth century Britain is presented. Subjects range from the wealthy, bibliographically knowledgeable members of the aristocrats to others who impoverished themselves and their families in their obsession. Discusses how these collections were instrumental in the advocacy of the public library movement.




Book Ownership in Stuart England


Book Description

This volume examines private libraries and book ownership in seventeenth-century England, with particular focus on how libraries developed over this period and the social impact that they had.




Anglo-Saxon England: Volume 29


Book Description

The editorial policy of Anglo-Saxon England has been to encourage an interdisciplinary approach to the study of all aspects of Anglo-Saxon culture. This approach is pursued in exemplary fashion by many of the essays in this volume. Fresh light is thrown on the dating and form of Cynewulf's poem The Fates of the Apostles through a comprehensive study of the historical martyrologies of the Carolingian period on which Cynewulf is presumed to have drawn. The literary form of Ælfric's Preface to his translation of Genesis is illustrated through a wide-ranging study of the rhetorical genre of preface-writing in the early Middle Ages (the genre which subsequently was known as the ars dictaminis), and the problems which Ælfric faced and solved in composing a Life of St Æthelthryth are illustrated through detailed comparison of the sources which he utilized. The usual comprehensive bibliography of the previous year's publications in all branches of Anglo-Saxon studies rounds off the book.




The Idea of Anglo-Saxon England 1066-1901


Book Description

The Idea of Anglo Saxon England, 1066-1901 presents the first systematic review of the ways in which Anglo-Saxon studies have evolved from their beginnings to the twentieth century Tells the story of how the idea of Anglo-Saxon England evolved from the Anglo-Saxons themselves to the Victorians, serving as a myth of origins for the English people, their language, and some of their most cherished institutions Combines original research with established scholarship to reveal how current conceptions of English identity might be very different if it were not for the discovery – and invention – of the Anglo-Saxon past Reveals how documents dating from the Anglo-Saxon era have greatly influenced modern attitudes toward nationhood, race, religious practice, and constitutional liberties Includes more than fifty images of manuscripts, early printed books, paintings, sculptures, and major historians of the era




Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg


Book Description

Features an introduction and a commentary that incorporates the scholarship on "Beowulf" that has appeared since 1950. This work includes detailed bibliographic guidance to discussion of textual cruces, as well as to modern and contemporary critical concerns. It also addresses aids to pronunciation and advances in the study of the poem's language.




The subject of Britain, 1603–25


Book Description

The subject of Britain analyses key seventeenth-century texts by Bacon, Jonson and Shakespeare within the context of the English reign of King James VI and I, whose desire to create a united Britain prompted serious reflection on questions of nationhood. This book traces writing on Britain and Britishness in succession literature, panegyric, Union tracts and treatises, play-texts and atlases. Focusing on texts printed in London and Edinburgh, as well as manuscript material that circulated within and across Britain and Ireland, this book sheds valuable light on texts in relation to the wider geopolitical context that informed their production. Combining literary criticism with political analysis and book history, The subject of Britain offers a fresh approach to a significant moment in British history, and will appeal to postgraduates and undergraduates of early modern British literary history.




A Catalogue of the Library of the Late John, Duke of Roxburghe


Book Description

Reissued here together, the 1812 sale catalogue and supplement for a significant bibliographical auction, with handwritten price and purchaser annotations.




The Country House Library


Book Description

Beginning with new evidence that cites the presence of books in Roman villas and concluding with present day vicissitudes of collecting, this generously illustrated book presents a complete survey of British and Irish country house libraries. Replete with engaging anecdotes about owners and librarians, the book features fascinating information on acquisition bordering on obsession, the process of designing library architecture, and the care (and neglect) of collections. The author also disputes the notion that these libraries were merely for show, arguing that many of them were profoundly scholarly, assembled with meticulous care, and frequently used for intellectual pursuits. For those who love books and the libraries in which they are collected and stored, The Country House Library is an essential volume to own.




Annual Bibliography of the History of the Printed Book and Libraries


Book Description

The Annual Bibliography of the History of the Printed Book and Libraries aims at recording articles of scholarly value which relate to the history of the printed book, to the history of arts, crafts, techniques and equipment, and of the economic social and cultural environment, involved in its production, distribution, conservation and description.